by Sanath Nanayakkare in The Island, May 11, 2023
State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon said on Tuesday that Sri Lanka Navy will undertake the task of mapping out an essential map for safe marine navigation for ocean-going ships sailing in Sri Lankan waters.
“Many countries require merchant ships to have these maps on board for safe navigation when they have entered a specific country’s waters wherever the ships’ destination may be and pay for the host country’s service,” he said.
“This is a marine geo-spatial product and service required to be used by international law to ensure safe navigation of merchant ships. These ships don’t necessarily have to enter a country’s sea port. But they need to use it while sailing in a country’s waters to comply with safety protocols. A hydrography map will measure the water depth, the shape of the seafloor and coastline, the location of possible obstructions and physical features of the sea at the time and help keep maritime transportation moving safely and efficiently in any given region. The map obtains necessary data by surveying with multibeam echo sounders. The accuracy of the hydrography map is critically important for many applications to reduce uncertainties while sailing in coastal lines.
They indicate shoals, rocks and wrecks that could be hazards to navigation. They also collect information on water level and tides, currents etc. The maps will indicate shore line and square nautical miles of a country’s waters considered critical to navigation. Now, the government has focused on mapping out an indigenous hydrography map to earn foreign currency from the service because it is our business and we have to claim it,” he said.
Further speaking he said:
“Sri Lanka’s nautical maps date back to more than a century which means we have not even touched them after the era of British rule. Now the Sri Lanka Navy is to be asked to update these maps in the next two years. We expect revenue of US$ 200 million by providing this service to all ships that sail in Sri Lankan waters. Every ship is required to use these maps as I said and they are required to make a payment for the service. These are opportunities that we haven’t tapped over many decades. We have now identified it and have drafted a National Hydrographic Bill which was submitted to the Cabinet last week. When it becomes an Act of parliament, we are going to obtain the services of the Sri Lanka navy to design these hydrography maps. We see this as a way of expanding our foreign currency revenue in the service sector. This exercise will take two years because of its technical complexity and precise digital integration.”
Earlier news reports indicated that currently the hydrographic maps are sold to merchant ships in Sri Lankan waters by a UK based company.
The minister made these remarks during an interview on Independent Television Network.https://island.lk/sri-lanka-navy-to-map-out-hydrographic-chart-eying-us-200-million-revenue-per-year/
