Vessel rescued along with fishermen

Ridma DISSANAYAKE

The Navy rescued a multi-day fishing vessel with six Sri Lankan fishermen on board in the Southern seas south-west of Galle on December 27.

The fishing vessel had stalled at mid-sea due to an engine failure and begun to drift perilously towards the deep seas, when the Navy moved in and secured the vessel and the lives of the crew on board.

The rescued vessel named ‘Nethum Putha 01’, is a multi-day fishing craft, which is 38 feet long. It had left Galle on December 05 and had been drifting on 24th December and subsequently, the Navy had been contacted by the Fisheries Department and assistance provided.

Accordingly, Sri Lanka Naval vessel ‘Prathapa’ had been directed to the rescue mission and the fishing vessel with its crew had been towed safely to the Galle Fisheries Harbour on December 27.

The Navy performs a multi-faceted role, being the first line of defence of the island-nation. Fisheries protection and providing assistance to fishermen in distress had been among its numerous tasks and naval ships and craft had been deployed accordingly on search and rescue operations in deep seas.