The Sri Lanka Navy rescued three fishermen and recovered their disabled trawler from waters off Analaitivu Island in the north after adverse weather left the vessel stranded and out of contact with shore, the Navy said in a statement carried by Newswire on Monday.
The operation began after the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources sent an urgent alert to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Colombo about a trawler in distress, the report said. Naval vessels were deployed for a two-day search-and-rescue mission across 6 and 7 June, eventually locating the trawler and its three-member crew off Analaitivu in the northern waters of the Jaffna district.
All three fishermen were brought to safety without injuries, and the Navy provided towing assistance to bring the disabled boat back to the mainland, the statement said.
The Navy added that it remained on standby, in coordination with MRCC Colombo, to respond to maritime emergencies involving fishermen and other communities operating within Sri Lanka’s Search and Rescue Region.
The successful recovery comes only days after a separate search off Point Pedro for four Jaffna fishermen who failed to return from a Wednesday-night sortie drew in the Sri Lanka Air Force alongside the Navy, and follows a multi-vessel rescue off Galle in May when three multi-day trawlers were stranded after technical failures, including one being towed 120 nautical miles back to harbour. The Analaitivu recovery is one of the few high-volume rescues of the southwest monsoon season to conclude with all crew safely retrieved.
