Sri Lanka launches Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre under Indian grant

Sri Lanka launched a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) established under a USD 6 million grant from India, capable of monitoring the ocean territories of the Maldives, India, Indonesia, and Australia in addition to Sri Lanka.

MRCC, which will provide comprehensive maritime information from a large area of the Indian Ocean, was inaugurated on Thursday, according to a statement from the Sri Lankan President's Office.

MRCC's main centre is located at the Sri Lanka Navy headquarters in Colombo, with a sub-centre in Hambantota on the southeastern coast of Sri Lanka. The MRCC also includes seven unmanned installations at strategic locations along Sri Lanka’s coastline - Galle, Arugambay, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Kallarawa, Point Pedro, and Mollikulam.

Sri Lanka's maritime rescue region covers an area of 1.77 million square kilometres (683,400 square miles) stretching from India to Indonesia, Australia and the Maldives.

The facility was inaugurated by India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar during his first bilateral visit overseas after being re-appointed in the Cabinet

Jaishankar discussed bilateral cooperation with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, focusing on various sectors including power, energy, connectivity, port infrastructure, aviation, digital technology, health, food security, education, and tourism.

Jaishankar and Wickremesinghe also jointly unveiled the development of 106 houses in Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, and Matale under the Indian Housing Project.