The Regional Centre for Maritime Studies (RCMS) established at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University with French support has trained more than 300 officials and is extending its reach to other Indian Ocean neighbours, EconomyNext reported on Sunday.
“Over the past year, RCMS has grown into a vibrant hub of learning, dialogue, and innovation,” Director Captain Chamila Mendis of the Sri Lanka Navy said in the Centre’s activity report. “Through conferences, workshops, and collaborative initiatives, we have sought to strengthen maritime knowledge, foster institutional partnerships, and create a platform where ideas can flourish.”
Inaugurated in December 2024, the Centre was set up to build the capacity of civil and military administrations involved in maritime safety, security and marine environmental protection. Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, described it at the launch as a strategic platform to bridge institutional and operational gaps across the Indian Ocean region and align procedures with international best practices.
In 2025, the Centre conducted 13 training programmes and three conferences. Courses covered oil spill response with field demonstrations for the Sri Lanka Navy, Sri Lanka Ports Authority and the Marine Environment Protection Authority; crisis management and intervention teams during maritime emergencies; targeting and analysis of shipping containers with port-based sessions led by French Customs; and Port Safety and Dangerous Goods Management.
The container-targeting course brought together officials from the Sri Lanka Navy, Coast Guard, Customs and Ports Authority. The Port Safety and Dangerous Goods programme drew port authority officials from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Other modules included building maritime domain awareness and a course on countering the smuggling of radiological and nuclear material delivered with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Global Maritime Crime Programme. That programme also ran a simulated trial bringing judges, prosecutors and law-enforcement officers together for case preparation, evidentiary analysis and courtroom practice in complex maritime trafficking cases.
Preliminary analytical work has been launched to identify training needs in the Maldives, Bangladesh and other regional states as part of the Centre’s gradual outreach. France’s then Secretary General of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Anne-Marie Descotes, addressed the Centre’s inaugural ceremony, describing maritime safety and security as vital for regional stability and economic well-being.
