Commander of Sri Lanka Navy Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne received Captains of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) vessels which were deployed in Operation Sagar Araksha II as they arrived at the Colombo Port for Operational Turn Around today (10), the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka said. Accordingly, Vice Admiral Ulugetenne acknowledged the huge support provided by these vessels and especially thanked India for its prompt response to the incident involving the MV X-Press Pearl. Captains briefed the Commander about their role in the Operation, particularly about Samudra Prahari, which is a specialized pollution response vessel. Meanwhile, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay, who joined in on the occasion, thanked the Commander and Sri Lanka Navy for extending whole-hearted cooperation to the Indian vessels throughout the Operation. He conveyed that it was not merely the geography that bound India and Sri Lanka in the maritime sphere, but the tradition of close cooperation in responding to emergencies such as HADR and accidents at sea as evidenced in Operation Sagar Araksha I & II. He underlined that bilateral mechanisms to appropriately respond to emergency situations in the shared maritime space is the need of the hour. He also highlighted that as India and Sri Lanka work jointly towards ensuring safety and security in the shared maritime space, it was important to remain adequately prepared for natural disasters and man-made catastrophes as they could recur. The statement recalled that the three ICG vessels sent from India along with the ICG Dornier aircraft were actively involved in the efforts towards dousing the fire onboard MV X-Press Pearl. Further, pollution Control Vessels were able to assist in assessment of Maritime Pollution Threats and were fully equipped to mitigate environmental concerns.