On the 70th birth anniversary of the co-founder of the Sri Lanka Navy Special Boat Squadron, late Commander Cedric Martenstyn, the Sri Lanka Navy renamed their Arrow Boats to “Cedric” in his honour.

The Special Boat Squadron or SBS was created by the present Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne and Commander Cedric Martenstyn in October 1993, in line with the Royal Navy’s Special Boat Squadron and the US Navy SEALS Special Boat Unit.

Cedric Martenstyn, with his expert knowledge on Speed Boats and Outboard Motors, designed the 16-foot Arrow Boats which were extensively used by the SBS in the Kilali Lagoon, Jaffna to fight against the LTTE small boats.

Two new types of weapons, namely 40 mm Automatic Grenade Launchers and 7.62 x 51 mm Multi-Purpose Machine Guns were installed on board these craft with a ‘continuous rail mounting’ design.