The United States Navy’s littoral combat ship USS Canberra arrived at the Port of Colombo on Monday for a routine port call — its second visit to Sri Lanka this year, after calling in June.
Both the Daily Mirror and NewsFirst reported the arrival on Monday morning.
What the ambassador said
US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Eric Meyer thanked the Sri Lanka Navy for its support in facilitating the visit.
“We appreciate the Sri Lanka Navy’s professionalism and support in making these visits smooth and efficient. Each visit reinforces the strength of our naval partnership, built on trust, and our shared commitment to maintaining security and stability across the Indian Ocean.”
The ship
USS Canberra (LCS 30) is an Independence-variant littoral combat ship, built in Mobile, Alabama. The class is designed for speed and shallow draft, allowing it to operate both in coastal waters and in the open ocean. Its adaptable mission systems let it switch between roles: maritime security operations, countering sea mines, and presence missions.
Its Indo-Pacific deployments form part of a broader US effort to protect maritime routes, maintain freedom of navigation, and build cooperation with regional partners on maritime security.
An unusual name, and an unusual commissioning
The ship carries the name of an allied warship rather than an American one. HMAS Canberra, a Royal Australian Navy heavy cruiser, was lost at the Battle of Savo Island in 1942 while fighting alongside US forces in the Second World War. The decision to name the vessel in its honour was announced by then President Donald Trump in February 2018.
That lineage produced a second first. On 22 July 2023 USS Canberra became the first US Navy warship ever commissioned in a foreign allied country, in a ceremony at the Royal Australian Navy’s Fleet Base East in Sydney.
Context
The visit continues a pattern of regular US naval engagement with Sri Lanka. The same ship called at Colombo in June, and the two navies exercised together during CARAT 2026 in July.
It also lands in a week of unusually dense naval activity around Sri Lanka. SLNS Gajabahu departed for India the same day for the first BIMSTEC maritime security exercise, and an Indian Navy training squadron is separately visiting Colombo. Taken together, these reflect the competition for naval partnership in the Indian Ocean that Sri Lanka’s position astride east–west shipping lanes attracts.
Not reported
Neither filing gives the duration of the port call, the size of the crew, or any scheduled bilateral activity such as joint drills, training exchanges or community engagements. Neither says where the ship had sailed from or where it goes next. The purpose is described only as a routine port call.
Image note: the photograph is NewsFirst’s, which the outlet labels an archive image rather than a frame from Monday’s arrival. The hull number 30 and the Independence-variant trimaran hull confirm it is the vessel in question.
Sources: US warship USS Canberra arrives in Colombo — Daily Mirror, October 26, Advanced US warship makes second Colombo visit this year — NewsFirst, October 26.
