Page 15 - navstrat

NAVSTRAT-2030

Ceylon was renowned among many countries as a famed destination for trade along the silk route
of the Asian continent as well as in the Indian Ocean. Being a trading hub in the past, Sri Lanka
had prospered in trade in a variety of products such as spices, gems, pearls and ivory. One of the
classic examples of Sri Lanka being a maritime hub in the Indian Ocean is that; China had a long
history on sailing into the Indian Ocean for trade, commercial and diplomatic missions led by the
legendary Admiral Zheng He. The Admiral had visited the country nearly six times from 1405 to
1433.

The first Europeans to visit Sri Lanka were the Portuguese, who sent the explorer Lourenco de
Almeida, in year 1505. Then Dutch went on to fight the Portuguese resulted in Dutch victory.
Dutch rule in Sri Lanka was done through the Dutch East India Company, a trading company
established in 1602 primarily to protect Dutch trade benefits in the Indian Ocean. The British took
over the country in 1796, automatically naming ‘Zeylan’ to ‘Ceylon’ and in 1815 Sri Lanka ending
of her independence. After nearly 133 years of British rule Ceylon got independence in year 1948.

Due to fears of impending war increased the idea of establishing a Volunteer Naval Force emerged.
As a result, Navy created for Ceylon and manned by residents of the country, came into being in
1937. In 1937 the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force (CNVF) was established under CNVF Ordinance
No. 1 of 1937. After World War II, CNVF was absorbed into the Royal Navy as, Ceylon Royal
Naval Volunteer Reserve (CRNVR). After gaining independence from British rule, a nucleus of
th
officers and men were ready to form the Regular Navy. On 09 December 1950 the Navy Act was
enacted (Act No. 34 of 1950) and the Royal Ceylon Navy was formed. In 1972, with the
introduction of new constitution the Royal Ceylon Navy was renamed as the Sri Lanka Navy.

By deploying the Fast Attack Craft (FAC), the navy expanded its fleet of patrol boats at the start
of the conflict in the 1980s. They were quite effective in reducing the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam’s (LTTE) usage of the seas. As the Sea Tigers turned to employing highly advanced suicide
craft against Navy vessels, the weapon systems on these were improved over time.

In order to counter sea tiger vessels and intercept arms shipments intended for the LTTE within
Sri Lankan territorial seas, the Navy increased the size of its patrol boat fleet in the latter half of
the 1990s. Beginning in 2000, the Navy commenced utilizing offshore patrol vessels to increase
the scope of its surveillance capabilities. At the same time, the acquisition of two Fast Missile
Vessels (FMVs) boosted the capability of conventional warfare.

Following the resumptions of hostilities between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the
LTTE since early 2006, the Navy took up an active role in limiting the LTTE’s use of the seas.
This resulted in several major sea battles during the course of 2006, 2007 and 2009. The most
significant event during this time was the interception and sinking of several large cargo ships that
were bringing illegal arms shipments to the LTTE in the Indian Ocean. The blue water capacity of
SLN has been proven by these operations.

In 1944, Navy cadre was 62 officers and 1291 sailors. With the escalation of conflicts within the
country, cadre of SLN increased up to 3434, 16191 and 26579 in 1983, 1996 and 2004 respectively.
Since 2009, with the Expansion of the Navy, focusing on Economic Development, Nation
Building, Environmental Sustainability, International Cooperation in addition to the National
Security, approved cadre was increased up to 55000 including naval personnel deputed for SLCG
to perform the enhanced Role and Task. Approved cadre since 1944 is illustrated in Table 1.1.

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