The Sri Lanka Navy says it has earned nearly US$600,000 in foreign exchange over the past four months from maritime security operations conducted in the Red Sea.
After the government transferred maritime security services previously handled by private companies such as Avant Garde to the Navy, a total of US$598,250 has been credited to the government’s joint account as direct foreign exchange income.
Director General of Naval Operations, Rear Admiral Harsha de Silva, said the income was generated from 323 operations carried out between October 3, 2025 and February 10, 2026.
He made these remarks at a media briefing held at the Government Information Department yesterday. Rear Admiral de Silva noted that the Navy has been providing weapons storage facilities for armed guards protecting merchant vessels since September 10, 2009.
However, he explained that when the responsibility was later handed over to the private sector under various directives, those companies received the full dollar income and paid only a small portion about 20 percent in rupees to the government and the Navy.
“Earlier, this service was delegated to a private institution, so the entire dollar income went to them. They paid only a small part in rupees to the Navy,” he said.
“In contrast, from October 3, 2025 to February 10, 2026, 323 maritime security operations were conducted in a four-month period, and the US$598,250 earned was credited directly to the national account as foreign exchange.”
He also said that the contracting of local agents of foreign maritime security companies is now taking place under the full supervision of the Ministry of Defence with a structured and transparent process. Currently, 32 companies have signed agreements with the Sri Lanka Navy, and there is strong potential for further growth and expansion.
These operations are mainly aimed at providing armed guards to ships due to threats to maritime traffic in the Red Sea. The Navy also stores the weapons of these guards under its custody and issues them when ships pass through the Red Sea, before safely securing them again when the vessels return to Sri Lanka.
