Sri Lanka’s defence secretary visited a US Coast Guard ship in Hawaii that the Sri Lankan navy is looking to purchase last week.
Kapila Waidyaratne and Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy Vice Admiral Sirimevan Ranasinghe visited the former USCGC vessel ‘Sherman’ in Honolulu, where they addressed Sri Lankan troops onboard the ship. Mr Waidyaratne reportedly “made endeavor to encourage and commend the duty of crew towards the motherland (sic),” according to an official military website.
Commissioned in 1968, the ship is going to Sri Lanka through the US Foreign Military Sales program, according to the US Coast Guard. The vessel is set to be taken over by the Sri Lanka navy by the end of the month and make its way toward the island by April 2019.
The sale of the ship comes amidst growing ties between the US and Sri Lanka, despite concern over human rights abuses committed by Sri Lankan troops.
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