Former US Coast Guard cutter Sherman arrives in Sri Lanka

Former US Coast Guard cutter Sherman arrived at the port of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on May 12, eight months after it was formally handed over to the South Asian country in August 2018.

Photo: Sri Lanka Navy

The ship is scheduled to be commissioned by Sri Lankan president Maithripala Yapa Sirisena in the near future.

Once it enters navy service, ex-USCGC Sherman will become the largest ship in the Sri Lankan fleet with a length of 115 meters.

The cutter was gifted to Sri Lanka under the Foreign Assistance Act which allows the transfer of excess defense articles as a grant to friendly, foreign governments.

Sherman is joining the SLNS Samudura, also a former US Coast Guard vessel that was gifted to Sri Lanka in 2004.

Sherman was decommissioned from the US Coast Guard in April 2018, after 50 years of service.

Photo: Sri Lanka Navy