The former United States Coast Guard cutter USCGC Decisive was formally commissioned into the Sri Lanka Navy as SLNS Samudravijaya at a ceremony held under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Thursday, NewsFirst reported.
The commissioning, conducted in line with longstanding naval traditions, brings the vessel into active service. The ship was previously identified by its US Navy hull number P628 ahead of the handover.
SLNS Samudravijaya is a B-Type Reliance Class cutter measuring approximately 210 feet (64 metres) and is designed for extended maritime operations. It is capable of covering a minimum range of 6,000 nautical miles at cruising speed in a single deployment, NewsFirst said.
Thursday’s commissioning closes a multi-month transfer process that began with US Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler meeting Sri Lanka Navy Commander Vice Admiral Kanchana Banagoda in Honolulu in April to finalise the donation, and continued earlier on Thursday with the vessel’s arrival at the Port of Colombo and an East Terminal handover ceremony attended by Deputy Ports Minister Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku.
The renaming of the ship — Samudravijaya translates roughly as “Victory at Sea” — places it among a small fleet of US-origin offshore patrol assets transferred to the Sri Lanka Navy under American security cooperation programmes in recent years, intended primarily for Exclusive Economic Zone patrolling, anti-trafficking and maritime surveillance duties.
Sri Lanka’s maritime security profile has been the subject of growing scrutiny in the last week, including a Regional Centre for Strategic Studies analysis that argued the country’s surveillance threats are outpacing institutional capacity. The Samudravijaya’s range and endurance specifications make it one of the more capable patrol assets the Sri Lanka Navy currently operates for far-from-coast surveillance.
