News
Operation to rescue distressed fishers cost SLN a packet
The Sri Lanka Navy dispatched its vessel, Vijayabahu, within five hours after the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources informed them that some Sri Lankan fishermen had fallen ill after consuming a liquid that was in a bottle found floating in the sea, Navy Spokesman Captain Gayan Wickramasuriya has said.
“There is a crew of around 100 in such a ship. We need to mobilise a medical team and the required medicine. Despite all this we managed to dispatch an offshore patrol vessel in five hours. We had to travel about 675 nautical miles to reach the fishermen and the entire journey is over 1,200 miles. We can’t send a fast attack craft because they can’t reach such distances,” he said.
Captain Wickramasuriya said dipatching a helicopter was also not possible because of the distance.
He said that according to maritime conventions a master of a ship at sea, who was in a position to be able to provide assistance on receiving a signal from any source that persons were in distress at sea, was bound to proceed with all speed to their assistance. That is why a Singaporean merchant vessel had gone out of its way to rescue the aforementioned fishermen and provide them with medical care.
“The merchant vessel lost about 10-12 hours because it changed course to hand over the surviving fishermen to SLNS Vijayabahu,” he said.
Captain Wickramasuriya said Sri Lanka Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (SLMRCC) had received 331 requests for assistance in 2022 and 377 in 2023.
“By 01 July 2024, SLMRCC had received 162 requests for assistance. In 2023 we saved 36 lives and in 2022 we saved 226 lives,” he said.
The Navy Spokesman said that he didn’t possess the exact estimates of the costs borne by the Navy for the operation to rescue the fisherman earlier this week. However, it was likely that the mission cost several tens of millions of rupees, he said.
Captain Wickramasuriya added that a warship like SLNS Vijayabahu could not tug a fishing vessel because the ship travels at high speeds. “The sea is rough these days. What happens if the fishing vessel capsizes? There were bodies inside the trawler and evidence to carry out an investigation. War ships are not built to tug along fishing vessels.” (RK)
A heated argument broke out between Jaffna District MP Archchuna Ramanathan and Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar during the Kilinochchi District Coordination Committee meeting held yesterday (16).
A video footage of the incident shows the MP and the Minister engaging in a heated verbal exchange, following which a physical confrontation appeared to develop when the Minister attempted to grab files reportedly in the possession of MP Ramanathan.
“If you lay a hand on me, I’ll lay a hand on you too… got it?” Ramanathan is heard telling the Minister during the exchange.
Police and officials present at the meeting intervened to prevent the situation from escalating further.
The circumstances that led to the confrontation were not immediately clear.
Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has filed an intervening petition before the Court of Appeal in connection with a petition filed by former head of the State Intelligence Service, Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay, challenging his arrest and detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act over investigations into the Easter Sunday terror attacks.
The Cardinal has sought permission from the court to make submissions in relation to Sallay’s petition and requested that it be dismissed.
The Colombo High Court yesterday fixed for Aug. 31 the pre-trial conference in the money laundering case filed by the Attorney General against former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, and his great-aunt Daisy Forrest.
The case was taken up before Colombo High Court Judge Rashmi Singappuli.
State Counsel Oswald Perera requested court to fix a date for the pre-trial conference and informed the judge that the prosecution would announce its position regarding the second accused, Daisy Forrest, at the conference. He also said the prosecution intended to notify court of amendments to the indictment.
After considering the submissions, Judge Singappuli ordered that the pre-trial conference be held on Aug. 31.
The Attorney General has indicted Yoshitha Rajapaksa and Daisy Forrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, alleging that they deposited nearly Rs. 59 million in bank accounts knowing, or having reason to believe, that the funds had been unlawfully acquired.
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