Despite being an island nation in the Indian Ocean, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka has a relatively young coast guard. The roots of the modern-day Sri Lanka Coast Guard (SLCG) can be traced to 1998, when a coast guard service was stood up under the auspices of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. This service was abolished on 31 March 2002 and its assets and personnel were transferred to Sri Lanka’s Coast Conservation Department.
The present-day SLCG was established on 9 July 2009 when a new Sri Lankan government passed the Department of Coast Guard Act, No. 41 of 2009. Now operating under the auspices of the Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence, the reborn SLCG was ceremonially inaugurated on 4 March 2010. It is headquartered in the Wellawatte neighborhood of Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, and is organized into 4 regional headquarters, 8 bases, 6 stations, and 29 substations.
A maritime law-enforcement agency, the SLCG has jurisdiction over Sri Lanka’s coastal areas and maritime zones and on the high seas. The 2009 act assigns duties and functions of the SLCG as:
- Providing fisheries protection and protecting fishermen in the coastal areas of Sri Lanka
- Assisting ships that meet with distress and the people on board such ships
- Assisting Sri Lanka Customs and other relevant authorities in counter-smuggling and anti-immigration operations and combating human trafficking
- Preventing piracy at sea and conducting antipiracy operations
- Cooperating with law-enforcement agencies and the armed forces in anti-terrorism operations
- Conducting drug-interdiction operations to prevent the trans-boundary movement of narcotics and psychotropic substances
- Detecting and seizing contraband weapons
- Assisting in marine environmental protection activities and the conservation of marine species
- Providing assistance in ensuring maritime traffic safety
- Preventing and combating maritime disasters, including conducting search-and-rescue, disaster relief, and salvage operations
- Supporting disaster preparedness, including disseminating information and warnings by radio and other means in the event of natural catastrophes
- Controlling and monitoring marine pollution
- Cooperating with domestic and foreign organizations to protect Sri Lanka’s national security and economy and to ensure its national integrity
SLCG personnel are empowered as peace officers with the authority to conduct visit, board, search, and seizure operations; demand licenses and permits; investigate offenses; and pursue offenders. Its current director general is Rear Admiral Samantha Wimalathunge, who previously served in the Sri Lanka Navy and who holds a master’s degree in strategic security studies from the National War College in Washington, D.C.
The SLCG works closely with the Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force and maintains interagency relationships with the Sri Lanka Police, the Marine Environment Protection Authority, the Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management, and the Department of Wildlife Conservation. It also participates in international training exercises with agencies such as the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency and the Indian, Maldivian, Japan, and U.S. coast guards.
In July, Sri Lanka hosted the Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting, which brought together representatives from across the region in an ongoing dialogue on maritime law-enforcement coordination and capacity building. This national first for the island nation shows the increasing role its coast guard is playing in the evolving maritime security landscapes of Indo-Pacific Asia.