Sri Lanka, Feb. 23 -- The former United States Coast Guard Cutter DECISIVE departed Baltimore, Maryland on February 21 to join the fleet of the Sri Lanka Navy, marking a historic milestone in bilateral maritime cooperation.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka, the voyage will be the Sri Lanka Navy's longest-ever journey to bring a vessel home. It will also mark the Navy's first transit of the Panama Canal.
Once commissioned into service, DECISIVE is expected to enhance Sri Lanka's maritime capabilities, particularly in countering drug trafficking and smuggling, conducting search and rescue operations, and safeguarding vital sea lanes in the Indian Ocean that are critical to global trade.
The transfer was carried out under the U...