News
Mid sea oil discharge facility averts fuel crisis
“Otherwise it would have sunk like a stricken ship’
by Suresh Perera
Sri Lanka has averted a major fuel crisis by overhauling the Single Point Buoy Mooring (SPBM), which was virtually crumbling as it had not been refurbished since being installed in 2010.
It would have spelled disaster if this offshore facility had collapsed as it’s the key link that handles the transfer of liquid cargo from oil tankers to the Muthurajawala oil tank farm, which meets 60% of the country’s demand for petrol, diesel and jet fuel, a senior official said.
The grueling overhaul, described as a “remarkable feat” by Sri Lankan engineers and technical officers, was completed without any costly foreign expertise, which translated into a substantial additional foreign exchange saving for the country, he stressed.
Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminal Limited (CPSTL) engineers and technical experts handled the complicated dismantling and re-installation of the SPBM, while Colombo Dockyard undertook the refurbishing.
The SPBM was originally imported from the US at a cost of US$ 10 million and installed in 2010. Though the offshore facility has to be serviced every five years due to exposure to salty sea water, it was not done in 2015 due to the apathy of a senior official during the previous government, he asserted.
A SPBM is difficult to procure in a hurry despite its enormous cost as it takes one year to be fabricated and delivered, he explained.
Engineers who earlier inspected the offshore facility found it in a virtual state of collapse with the 39 anodes, each weighing 75 kilos, dissolved and the iron fittings heavily corroded, the senior official said.
“If we had not got down to the overhaul job, it would have sunk like a stricken ship within six months”, he remarked.
He said that if the offshore buoy had crashed, Sri Lanka would have been able to stock only half of the country’s fuel requirements as it takes four to five days to unload an oil tanker for storage at the Kolonnawa terminal.
Though the overhaul was estimated to cost Rs. 500 million, the job was completed by local engineering experts for Rs. 425 million despite the spike in the US dollar, he noted.
If not for the callous indifference of a “square peg in a round hole” overseeing operations in 2015, the damage to the facility would not have been so extensive as what should have been attended to in five years was neglected and allowed to drag on for a decade, the official opined.
He said that it was due to the intervention of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila and CPSTL Chairman M. Uvais Mohamed that the country was able to prevent a grave fuel crisis.
A sum of LKR. 9,687,462, raised from day’s salary officers of the Police Department, has been donated to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, established to support the recovery of communities affected by Cyclone Ditwah and to assist in rebuilding the country following the disaster.
To date, officers of the Police Department have contributed over LKR. 74 million to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund through three such contributions of one day’s salary.
The donation was presented on Wednesday (22) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat by the Personal Assistant to the Inspector General of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police C. C. Bamunuarachchi, to the Secretary to the President, Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.
Chief Inspector Udaya Kumara, Officer-in-Charge of the Police Secretariat, was also present on the occasion.
[Presidents Media Division]
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Heat Index at Caution Level in the Northern, North-central, North-western, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, and Eastern provinces and in Monaragala district during the day time
Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 26 April 2026, valid for 27 April 2026.
The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Northern, North-central, North-western, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, and Eastern provinces and in Monaragala district during the day time.
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Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.
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Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa has called for the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to investigate the illegal diversion of Treasury funds, amounting to US$2.5 million to a third-party account.
Premadasa has said both the chairmanship and a majority of the Committee’s membership should be held by the Opposition to ensure impartiality.
The government has not only failed to account for the loss of US$2.5 million but also deliberately withheld information from Parliament, the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) and the public, Premadasa has told the media, accusing the ruling party of seeking to deflect responsibility by initiating an internal departmental inquiry, which he describes as a biased process designed to justify predetermined conclusions.
The Opposition Leader has said only a transparent and independent probe could establish the facts, adding that such an investigation could be effectively carried out through a Parliamentary Select Committee led by the Opposition.
He has also warned that the alleged failure to inform Parliament about the missing funds amounted to a serious breach of accountability.
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Heat Index at Caution Level in the Northern, North-central, North-western, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, and Eastern provinces and in Monaragala district during the day time
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