Sri Lanka Navy Monday officially took over the United States Coast Guard Cutter Sherman at a ceremony held in U.S. Coast Guard Base in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Sri Lanka Navy Commander Vice Admiral Sirimevan Ranasinghe ceremonially took over the ship from Assistant Commandant Acquisition and Chief Acquisition Officer of USCG Rear Admiral Michael Haycock and handed over the command to Captain Aruna Tennakoon, the designated Commanding Officer of the ship.
The USCGC Sherman is the second US Coast Guard Ship provided to Sri Lanka Navy. The initial vessel provided is presently serving as SLNS Samudura in the Sri Lanka Naval fleet.
The high endurance cutter, which returned from its final deployment in January, was decommissioned in March this year after nearly 50 years of service.
The 115-meter long ship, equipped with state of art weapons and machinery will join the Sri Lanka Navy fleet as the largest platform to be held by the Navy. The ship will be utilized to patrol and surveillance missions in the deep seas around Sri Lanka providing the maritime security and assistance to search and rescue operations.
Sherman has a storied history including being the last active remaining U.S. warship in the Coast Guard or Navy to have sunk an enemy vessel. The ship holds the record of confiscating the largest amount of Cocaine (17 tons) while she was serving in the USCG.
The ceremony was attended by Sri Lankan Consul in Hawaii Bede Cooray.
In parallel to the ceremony, the Commander of the Navy held cordial discussions with the Captain T. Rasmussen, Base Commander US Coast Guard Honolulu and praised him for the enormous support given by the USCG base to the SLN ship’s crew.
The designated Sri Lankan Navy crew of the ship is scheduled to undergo training on the ship an estimated 40 days of sailing across the Pacific and Indian Ocean before they take her home by early April 2019.
Courtesy: Colombo Page
