Families of naval personnel killed on operational duty gathered at the Naval Dockyard in Trincomalee on 31 October for a ceremony commemorating the fallen of the 4th Fast Attack Flotilla.
Navy Commander Vice Admiral Damian Fernando led proceedings at the war memorial inside the flotilla’s headquarters, the Colombo Gazette reported. Parents and other close relatives of the dead joined serving and retired naval personnel.
Two days of observances
The commemoration ran over two days as part of a series of events organised with the families.
Religious observances opened on 30 October, with a sermon by Ven. Galle Chanda Nanda Thera of Jayasumanarama Purana Maha Viharaya, Trincomalee. Floral tributes at the memorial followed during the main ceremony the next day.
Addressing the gathering, Fernando said the event sought to honour officers and sailors who had died or gone missing during operational service, and to recognise what their families had borne.
Flotilla Commanding Officer Captain Sanjeewa Conrad Annathugoda was among those attending.
The unit’s history
Fernando traced the flotilla’s origins to 14 September 1988, when the unit was first established in Trincomalee. It was formally commissioned as the 4th Fast Attack Flotilla on 22 June 2019, and has received the President’s Colour in recognition of its service.
The Commander also recalled his own service within the flotilla, which included postings as second officer in command of two fast attack craft, command of three craft, and later leadership of the flotilla itself.
Not reported
The report does not say how many personnel were being commemorated, name any of the dead, or identify the operations in which they were lost. It gives no attendance figure and does not say whether the commemoration is an annual fixture or marked a particular anniversary.
Single source. A search of other verified newsrooms found no independent report of the ceremony. The Ministry of Defence appears to have published its own account, but defence.lk was unreachable from this desk — the request returned no response at all — so it could not be fetched, dated or cited. Ada Derana could not be checked, having returned an HTTP 403 block for some 51 consecutive days.
Readers should note that searches for this flotilla also return coverage of the unveiling of the 4FAF war monument in September 2021, a separate and much earlier event at the same site.