Over 10,000 Sri Lankan Seafarers on firing line:
Navy deployment to protect merchant shipping – President:
An estimated 10,000 Sri Lankan Seafarers are on the line of fire in the Red Sea following escalating and deadly attacks on merchant and other vessels by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The exact number of active Sri Lankan Seafarers currently embedded on foreign flagged merchant vessels cannot be reached but the officials said it is anything between 15, 000 to 20,000.
The bulk of the Sri Lankans are employed on vessels that must sail to and from the Red Sea and there is no way out should they be caught up in hostilities while in that region, the officials said.
Sri Lanka at present does not own a single merchant vessel and all the Sri Lankans are on board foreign vessels and they could be Israeli owned or otherwise, they said.
Director General of Merchant Shipping, Ajith Wijeysinghe said the present scenario is not that scary but the situation could change if the war intensifies in the region.
“As of now we have not received a single complaint from Sri Lankan Seafarers from the Red Sea or otherwise.
Sri Lankans Seafarers opting to board foreign vessels cannot be prevented simply because they are doing it at their own risk. Apart from their stipulated salary they will also receive a risk allowance”, Wijeysinghe said.
“On our part we have not banned the recruitment of Sri Lankan Seafarers because apart from the Red Sea there are routes such as the Cape of Good Hope where major shipping companies have opted to take”.
He said that there has been no significant drop of Sri Lankan Seafarer hopefuls despite the escalating situation in the Red Sea and other areas.
An average Sri Lankan Seafarer at the lowest ranking earns something like US$ 1,200 that could go up to even US$ 15,000 at the highest officer level, maritime sources said.
“Therefore, the temptation is great war or otherwise”, he added.
The Houthi rebels who armed with sophisticated arsenal that include missiles, explosives packed drones and even fixed wing aircraft supplied by Iran capable of launching bloody strikes at any moment, the officials said.
They said that over the past several weeks the Houthis have launched some 23 missile strikes at foreign war ships but they we neutralised mid-air and fell harmlessly into the sea.
The Houthis maintain that the attacks on maritime traffic in the Red Sea is aimed to stop the ongoing Israel bombings on the Gaza Strip, a threat the Jewish State has kept on mute mode.
However, having it is only a matter of time that one stray missile could breach the air defences of the war ship and land on a neutral merchant vessel and cause devastating effects, the officials warned.
The Houthis claim that there are only targeting vessels of Israel ownership or of Jewish interest but the recent attacks show otherwise.
Sri Lanka for its part can do very little but has decided to deploy two naval ships to the Red Sea to join a coalition of other vessels that would form a coalition known as the ‘Prosperity Guardian.
“We have no intention of engaging the Houthis, Iranians, Palestinians, Israelis or other armed actors in the conflict but instead to protect the merchant ships that will be using the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden on their way to Sri Lanka.
“Besides, it is also a part of an international obligation to protect maritime traffic in difficult times such as this and therefore, it is imperative to join the international coalition,” the Sri Lanka Navy Spokesman Captain Gayan Wickramasooriya said.
“All the ground preparations are ready for deployment but we are waiting for the exact date to set sail to the Red Sea.
At present extensive discussions are being held with all the coalition partners prior to the deployment on the Red Sea.
He said a large number of merchant ships also carry heavily armed Sea Marshals but this is mainly to thwart Somali pirates who are known to roam the seas in these areas.
“However, these Sea Marshals equipped with only small arms weapons would be no match to drones, missiles and other projectiles fired by the Houthis.
This will also be the first time that the Sri Lanka Navy will be deployed in the Red Sea even though it will be of a minor combat role.
According to maritime sources, major ship owners in the world have already skipped the Red Sea route and opted to navigate around the Cape of Good Hope, a time-consuming and expensive voyage that will see commodity prices skyrocket throughout the world.
First time war ships are being sent from Sri Lanka
For his part President Ranil Wickremesenghe has repeatedly ordered the Sri Lankan naval authorities to deploy warships into the area stressing it was important to protect international maritime trade that otherwise will have repercussions on Sri Lankan ports as well.
The President also said that this was the first time that ships are being sent from Sri Lanka to protect international waters after the reign of King Parakramabahau the Great.
“If we fail to send the ships to the Red Sea looking at the cost factor then the country will have to bear ahuge cost due to the non-arrival of merchant ships into the country.
President Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lankan war ships are sent into the Red Sea to provide security for cargo ships travelling along the merchant trade routes and not support wars between any states.
Bahrain also in coalition
President Joe Biden said Thursday that a series of strikes in Yemen targeting Iran-backed Houthi rebels was meant to demonstrate that the U.S. and its allies including Bahrain from the Gulf Region “will not tolerate” the militant group’s ceaseless attacks on the Red Sea.
Biden said the U.S. and its allies only made the move after attempts at diplomatic negotiations and careful deliberation.
“These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history,” Biden said in a statement. “These attacks have endangered U.S. personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardised trade, and threatened freedom of navigation.”
Biden said the U.S. and its allies only made the move after attempts at diplomatic negotiations and careful deliberation.
(Agencies)
