After decades of service SLNS ‘Weeraya’ and ‘Jagatha’ wave farewell

The duo of ships of the 3rd Fast Gun Boat Squadron has rendered a priceless service to the Sri Lanka Navy for over four decades with a noble resolve to ensure the security of the Sri Lankan waters.

The commissioning of a naval ship into the service is done by authorizing it with a special commissioning warrant signed by the President.

By the same token, the decommissioning procedure too demands a special approval of the President of the country.

Consequently, the decommissioning of SLNS ‘Weeraya’ and ‘Jagatha’ was carried out with the seal of approval of the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Way back in 1972, when Rear Admiral DV Hunter was the Commander of the Navy, one of the two ships was commissioned into the naval fleet as Her Majesty's Ceylon Ship (HMCyS) ‘Weeraya' and after the country becoming a republic she was renamed as SLNS ‘Weeraya’ to continue her service to the nation for about 48 years.

Some 08 years later, when Rear Admiral AWH Perera at the helm in the Sri Lanka Navy, the other ship was commissioned into the Sri Lanka Navy fleet in 1980 as SLNS ‘Jagatha’ and she too has been in active service for about 04 decades, as she brought her journey to a standstill.

Produced in the People’s Republic of China in 1961, the service of these ships became very vital to the Sri Lanka Navy, with the outbreak of the Eelam War I in the early 1980s.

Further, they were pressed into action to quash arms smuggling and terrorist activities in the seas off the Karainagar Island during that period.

From their inception, the two ships have been in service for over a half-century of years, as they reach the maximum life cycle as of now.

Marking the culmination of the decommissioning ceremony, the paying off pennants (long pennants equivalent to the lengths of each ship) were ceremonially scissored off into equal segments and a piece was distributed among the ships’ crew, in compliance with time-honored naval traditions.

Being two old yet prominent cogs of the wheel of the Navy fleet and rendering a praiseworthy service spanning over 04 decades for the mission requirement of the Sri Lanka Navy, SLNS ‘Weeraya’ and ‘Jagatha’ were decommissioned leaving their memory in a legacy.

Meanwhile, the 02 ships will soon find their new home on the seabed off the port of Trincomalee making those fine artificial fish breeding grounds, upon their decades-long tour of duty.

As a guest of honor of this significant event, the decommissioning ceremony was attended by Rear Admiral (Retd) JTG Sundaram who Commanded ‘Weeraya’ from 01st January 1980 to 25th January 1981 as its 06th Commanding Officer.

All proceedings of the decommissioning ceremony had been meticulously organized adhering to the prevention guidelines of COVID – 19.