A donation from India to the Sri Lanka Navy

An agreement was reached on 22nd March 2022 to procure the Floating Dock from India, gifted to the Sri Lanka Navy by the Goa Shipbuilding Company of India, to meet the long standing requirement of the Sri Lanka Navy’s Floating Dock. The floating dockyard is scheduled to be established at the Trincomalee Naval Dockyard over the next 30 months.

In order to maintain the maximum efficiency of the ships and vessels of the Sri Lanka Navy, it is essential to carry out underwater maintenance and repair routines on ships and vessels annually, thereby maximizing the lifespan of ships and vessels. The existing dry pool facilities available at the Navy will only be able to carry out underwater repairs and services for vessels weighing less than 350 tons. The long waits on the waiting list for large vessels to receive underwater repairs and services from private docks cause significant delays in the maintenance and repair of ships and vessels, as well as the longevity of ships and vessels.

To address this issue, after discussions and studies with neighboring Allied navies from 2015 to 2017, it was recommended that the Sri Lanka Navy obtain a floating dock. The acquisition of the floating dock from India was also discussed during staff discussions between the Sri Lankan and Indian navies. After a lengthy process, with the approval of the Cabinet in 2020, discussions were initiated with India to obtain the floating pool as a gift from India. The contract was signed on March 22, 2022, as it was recommended that the requirement be obtained from the Goa Shipyard Ltd. (Goa Shipyard Ltd.).

In addition, the Sri Lanka Navy has purchased two (02) modern deep sea surveillance vessels for the Sri Lanka Navy from the Goa Dockyard Company of India in 2017 and 2018.

The $ 20 million floating dockyard will be donated to the Navy, which will save the Navy about $ 600 million a year in annual maintenance and servicing of large naval vessels.