COLOMBO, June 4 -- Sri Lanka on Thursday (4) commissioned SLNS Samudravijaya, a former United States Coast Guard cutter transferred under the US Excess Defence Articles Program, marking a significant milestone in maritime cooperation between Colombo and Washington.

The vessel arrived after a historic 12,000-nautical-mile journey from Baltimore, Maryland - the longest voyage ever undertaken by a Sri Lanka Navy crew to bring a vessel home and the Navy's first transit through the Panama Canal.

The commissioning ceremony at the Port of Colombo was attended by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, US Charge d'Affaires Jayne Howell, Deputy Defence Minister K. P. Aruna Jayasekara, Defence Secretary Sampath Thuyacontha, and Sri Lanka Navy Command...