Despite its
world-class recognition among industrial and tourist ports, the development and
operations of the Port of Trincomalee were hampered due to the lack of
potential to perform night operations.
Vessels calling at the port at
night had to enter the port during the daytime of the following day, after anchoring
at the out-harbor waters during the previous night, which caused interruptions
to port operations and their efficiency.
As a result of
fruitful discussions between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government of
Japan in 2017, the two governments entered into an agreement to implement a
grant aid under the Japanese Non-Project Grant Aid Program 2017, also known as
the Economic & Social Development Program.
Accordingly, this grant aid of 01 billion Japanese Yen
was provided for the Night Navigation Operations Project at the Port of
Trincomalee, which included a state-of-the-art Vessel Traffic Management
System, Radar Equipment, Lighthouse Equipment, 16 Navigation Buoys, 02 Mooring
Buoys, 02 400KV Generators, 14 Fire Pumps with machinery, and a Pilot Vessel
provided by the Japan International Cooperation System (JICS) with the
assistance of the Government and the People of Japan.
The Trinco Night
Navigation Operations Project, which includes all of this equipment and
facilities, was handed over for operations on February 17, 2023, at a function
held at the Port of Trincomalee.