By Asiri FernandoThe naval ship SLNS Jayasagara (P601), which was decommissioned by the Navy last week after nearly four decades of service, will continue to serve in a new role after being transferred to the Sri Lanka Coast Guard later this year, The Sunday Morning learnt.The Jayasagara, the first of a two-ship class of maritime surveillance vessels, entered service with the Sri Lanka Navy in December 1983 and holds the distinguished title of being Sri Lanka’s first domestically built ship for the Navy. The Jayasagara and Sagarawardena, her sister ship, were manufactured at Colombo Dockyard Ltd. to Navy requirements in 1983.SLNS Sagarwardena (P602) was lost due to a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide boat attack on 19 September 1994 off Mannar. The Jayasagara was decommissioned at the Trincomalee Naval Dockyard last Thursday (30 September) following naval traditions, the Navy said.The Sri Lanka Coast Guard was building capacity for its role as a maritime law enforcement agency in post-war Sri Lanka, with plans underway to acquire a specialised pollution control vessel (PCV) to its white-hull fleet.The need for a PCV was highlighted prior to the several maritime pollution incidents that occured around the island in the recent past, but it was not filled due to budget constraints.
