Govt asked to pay damages for ships

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says that the incident at the Hambantota Port caused harm to the country’s image and also created a problem regarding the port while the government has also been asked by shipping companies to pay for the damages.


He was speaking to reporters after meeting with the Sri Lanka Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, who handed over a report detailing the recent navy operation carried out at the Hambantota Port while protesting employees had blocked vessels.

Two shipping companies called me and asked that their ships, which were prevented from leaving, be protected and safeguard from any harm, the prime minister said.

“After discussing with the President and the Defence Secretary, I asked the Navy Commander to go and protect those ships and helped them leave the harbour.”

“Because we have to hand over this port to a new company on January 7th,” he said.

Wickremesinghe said that the government has to protect these ports according to the international agreements and that ships will not return to Sri Lanka if those are not implemented.