Tag Archives: SLNS Samudravijaya (SLS P 628)

Family Reunion in the Gulf of Ceylon

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CARAT (Sri Lanka) 2026 just wrapped up in Trincomalee, following a series of exercises and exchanges between the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and the U.S. Navy. The 32nd iteration of the exercise saw the SLN work alongside deployed VP-26 P-8A Poseidons from CTF 72, staff from Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7, CTF-73, CTF-76, Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, and a U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Engagement Team.

Of note to our audience will be a few steaming formation shots of SLNS Samudura (P261)/ex-USCGC Courageous, which has been in service with the force since 2005, and SLNS Vijayabahu (P627)/ex-USCGC Munro. which was transferred in 2021.

Samudura/Courageous is an ASBC-built 210-foot Reliance-class cutter commissioned in 1968, while Vijayabahu/Munro is a 378-foot Avondale-built Hamilton-class cutter that entered service in 1971.

Note that the former 210 now carries fore-and-aft 40mm Bofors L70s, flanked forward by two Chinese Type 58 (ZPU-2) 14.5mm AAGs, while the 378 still has her MK 75 76mm OTO installed during her 1990s-era SLEP (and it works!), along with some Chinese Type 61 25mm AAGs.

Plus you have to appreciate the seafoam green/blue paint scheme the SLN uses. It is very effective.

Also note the Bell 212/412 delivering ship riders.

Aside from the above, the SLN also operates a second 378, SLNS Gajabahu (P626)/ex-USCGC Sherman, and the recently delivered SLNS Samudravijaya (SLS P 628)/ex-USCGC Decisive (WMEC 629).

Nice to see the old girls still clocking in.

At least they will never have to worry about icing up ever again.

Decisively Samudravijaya, or, Starting a New Career at 58

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The ex-USCGC Decisive (WMEC 629), a B-Type Reliance-class 210-foot gunboat/cutter, is now in active service as SLNS Samudravijaya (SLS P 628) in the Sri Lankan Navy. I guess SLS P 629 was already taken or something.

Note she now carries a twin Bofors 40mm L70 mount forward, an upgrade from the MK 38 25mm chain gun she carried for the past 30 years with the USCG, while, arguably, still short of the 3″/50 MK 22 Decisive, which she was commissioned with in 1968.

A simple ship with twin diesel engines and almost zero automation, she joins class member SLNS Samudura (P261)/ex-USCGC Courageous, which has been in service with the force since 2005, and two former 378-foot Hamilton-class cutters transferred in recent years, SLNS Gajabahu (P626)/ex-USCGC Sherman, and SLNS Vijayabahu (P627)/ex-USCGC Munro.

She self-deployed 14,775nm to her new home from the USCG Yard at Curtis Bay, ironically, where she was built in the 1960s.

Once upon a time, she was stationed at CGS Pascagoula, formerly NAVSTA Pascagoula, directly across from Ingalls on Singing River Island– where I was very familiar with the “Swamp Rats” and toured her for an article in Sea Classics— before her final assignment to Pensacola in 2017.

A bit of Decisive remains on the Gulf Coast.

One of Decisive’s 26-foot Mark V Motor Surfboats (MSB), DEC1 is preserved as part of the USCG static display at the Battleship Alabama Park in Mobile.

This circa 1994 MSB MKV replaced one of Decisive’s original 1960s-era wooden-hulled 26-foot Monomoy surfboats and was used aboard while the cutter was stationed at Pascagoula. It was the go-to when having to conduct boardings or rescues in heavy seas.

Dubbed a “bathtub” for obvious reasons, these craft were self-righting and self-bailing. The MSB MKV was built by Ocean Technical Services in Harvey, Louisiana, and used a Cummings 4BT3.9M diesel to push it at 18 knots.

Typically manned by three, it could carry 10 passengers or 15 survivors in a pinch, depending on size.

The exhibit includes not only the surfboat but also a 41-foot UTM, a S-61/HUS-1G/HH-52A Seaguard (1371), and a S-55B/HO4S-2/HH-19G (1258), the latter two sourced from the National Museum of Naval Aviation to honor the nearby CG Aviation Training Center (ATC), which has trained the service’s pilots and aircrew since 1966.