• ‘Giant step forward for domestic hydrography & research capacity’: Premitha 

The Government of Australia, yesterday (30), informed the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence that they will donate hydrographic equipment to the Sri Lanka Navy in September, it is learnt. 

The hydrographic equipment is understood to be comprised of the shallow water multi-beam echo sounder. Multi-beam echo sounder surveys are a form of acoustic survey that uses sound to map the depth and topography of the seafloor.

“This is a giant step for us (Sri Lanka) in building sovereign capacity for hydrography and marine scientific research,” State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon told The Daily Morning. 

According to Tennakoon, the Assistant Secretary – North and South Asia of the Australian Department of Defence Karen Radford informed him of the decision yesterday. The Australian delegation led by Radford included the Australian High Commissioner to Colombo Paul Stephens and the Defence Advisor to Colombo, Colonel Amanda Johnston.

Sri Lanka had taken a policy decision last year (2023) to improve the sovereign capacity to conduct hydrographic surveys and marine scientific research, and had opened a dialogue with several countries including Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, India, and Australia over obtaining assistance for the capability building. Japan, in May, pledged to provide Sri Lanka a vessel equipped with hydrographic equipment. Sri Lanka recently enacted the National Hydrographic Act, No. 7 of 2024.