Sri Lanka Navy Thwarts Attack on Passenger Ship
Sri Lanka Navy thwarted Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam militant attacks and saved the lives of 854 unarmed soldiers, who traveled from Kankesanthurai to Trincomalee in a passenger vessel on August 1. According to report Sri Lanka Naval sea unit confronted a cluster of LTTE suicide boats at the harbor entrance of Trincomalee. Naval sources confirmed that the passenger vessel has been navigated to a distance safely into the international waters and no casualties were caused during the confrontation. Three boats carrying the LTTE militants were destroyed in the attack. Several other LTTE boats were also damaged. The number of casualties due to the artillery attack at the Trincomalee harbor area is yet to be known.
Sri Lanka Begins Building Berth At Eastern Port
The Sri Lanka Ports Authority has begun construction of a $16 million berth in the eastern Trincomalee Harbor to increase cargo handling, according to ports ministry officials. Work on the new berth, which will be able to handle both break-bulk and container traffic and would accommodate vessels up to 50,000 tons, is expected to be completed by July 2001. Trincomalee Harbor, approximately 150 miles northeast of the capital Colombo, currently has two privately run berths to handle flour and cement.
