Conducting rescue operations and providing humanitarian assistance at times of war is a challenging task. It would be a daunting undertaking which a Service wouldn’t want to take up especially in the midst of war against an enemy who wouldn’t stop at nothing to inflict losses on the navy.

But to the navy’s credit, the fighting units had braved the high seas in rescue missions despite the lurking danger posed by Sea Tigers, a wily enemy who would swiftly take advantage of any given opportunity to spring a surprise attack.

A case in point was the destruction of a locally built Inshore Patrol Craft (IPC) north of Talaimannar on the evening of February 4 last year. The only survivor of the seven-man crew of the IPC said that their craft were hit by Rocket Propelled Grenades and small arms fire as they approached what they mistakenly` identified as an Indian fishing vessel in distress. The ill-fated vessel had been among two IPCs which responded to a call for urgent assistance.

Taking cover of a large group of Indian trawlers poaching in Sri Lankan waters, the attackers escaped leaving the crew of the accompanying IPC stunned. Despite the treacherous attack, the navy continues to engage in rescue operations and on many occasions had come to the rescue of Indian fishermen.

The rescue of an Indian fishing vessel which ran out of fuel and drifted to Sri Lankan waters on August 14 last year emphasised the navy’s unwavering commitment to international maritime obligations. The vessel with its four man crew rescued seven nautical miles north-east of Kankesanthurai were later escorted to the international maritime boundary.

Less than a week later, the navy rescued four Indians after their boat had capsized four nautical miles off the Delft Island.

Four months later, the navy facilitated the re-floating of a grounded Indian trawler ‘Lady Matha’ off Talaimannar. The navy joined hands with a group of Indian poachers to re-float the distressed vessel.

The deployment of vessels, in some instances the navy’s precious Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) or Fast Attack Craft (FACs) for search and rescue operations is at a tremendous cost to the taxpayer. And the deployment of major assets would be always at the risk of running to a potential trap.

Navy officers explained the vulnerability of vessels deployed on rescue missions despite stringent security measures taken against a surprise attack. The country couldn’t simply afford to lose a major asset as the combined security forces make rapid progress on the Vanni fronts.

The rescue of 71 Burmese and Bangladeshis early March this year about 150 nautical miles off the Eastern coast was the single biggest operation undertaken by the navy. Their vessel had been drifting on the high seas for two weeks before the navy reached it. In fact, the navy had launched a search for a suspicious vessel after fishermen alerted the navy of the presence of the unidentified craft. Coming close on the heels of the destruction of several LTTE floating arsenals on the high seas, the navy would have acted swiftly on the tip off given by the fishermen. If the navy didn’t receive that tip off, the young men who had embarked on dangerous voyage in search of employment in Thailand and Malaysia would have died of starvation and dehydration. Twenty of their mates had died before the navy boarded the vessel.

But there had been instances when the navy had failed to respond to emergency situation. The unavailability of assets would prevent the navy from launching a rescue operation. "We may not be able to help some times due to a variety of reasons," Commander R. W. E.M. B. Karunaratne told The Sunday Island , asserting the deployment of assets on a rescue mission would be a challenge. Reiterating the navy’s commitment to humanitarian missions, he assured the inevitability of search and rescue missions on a hostile environment wouldn’t put them off.

Last month, the navy deployed SLNS Sayura to rescue Hiruni II about 85 nautical miles off Foul Point, Trincomalee. This followed the rescue of multi-day fishing craft Surala about 90 nautical miles off Trincomalee. Hiruni II had developed engine trouble about 52 nautical miles off Pulmoddai and drifted for almost two weeks before the navy reached the stricken vessel.

The recent deployment of the navy to help fishermen affected by cyclonic weather on the western and the southern coast highlighted the role played by the Service in times of crisis. The navy has been also on the forefront of flood relief operations and the late May floods weren’t any exception.

But the deployment of Offshore Patrol Vessel SLNS Samudura to bring ashore a seriously wounded fisherman last month emphasized the importance in humanitarian missions. Acquired from the US, the vessel had been part of the units involved in the destruction of LTTE arms ships on the high seas.

The fisherman had suffered injuries when he had been entangled in the propeller of a multi day fishing trawler about 150 nautical miles north-east of Trincomalee. Had the navy not responded, the young man wouldn’t have survived the day.

To the navy’s credit, the navy had rescued people even after the confrontations with the Sea Tigers. The battle between a pair of Fast Attack Craft and an LTTE commandeered Indian fishing trawler about 40 miles west of Kudiramalai point, North of Kalpitiya in November, 2006 caused the destruction of the trawler.

But the navy rescued a fisherman of South Indian origin, treated him before handing him over to the Indian High Commission. This was despite a section of the Tamil Nadu fishing community collaborating with the LTTE both due to financial gain and fear.

The navy is in the process of bolstering its strength, both in terms of men and material to meet the new challenges as the war on the Vanni front approaches a critical stage with the army making rapid progress. With the army certain to restore the 82-kilometre Mannar-Pooneryn coastal road thereby opening a land route to the Jaffna peninsula in the coming months, the heavy dependence of the sea line of communications between Trincomalee and KKS at a tremendous cost to the taxpayer would be lessened.

That I believe, would facilitate a re-thinking of naval strategy as the restoration of the vital road would automatically clear the north-western coast of Sea Tiger bases and pave the way for an overall approach in supplying the Jaffna peninsula.