Passenger Ferry Jetliner, which rendered a yeoman service to the Sri Lanka Navy, sailed back home on 04th November 2012 on completion of her charter hire. SLN bid her farewell at a fitting casting off ceremony held at SLNS Rangalla with the attendance of senior SLN officers.
Sri Lanka Navy charted the passenger vessel owned by PT Pelni (Pelayaran National Indonesia) in 2006 and it played a pivotal role in the naval operations during the humanitarian mission carried out to liberate the nation from terrorism. Jetliner under SLN command ferried thousands of Security Forces personnel, civilians and goods between Trincomalee and Kankesanthurai ports till the main ground supply routes were cleared and restored. It also holds the record for carrying more than 3,000 Security Forces personnel at a time.
After the dawn of peace, Jetliner took on a novel venture, “Jetliner Nautical Enterprise”, which was launched on 22nd January 2010 under the theme ‘ Visit Sri Lanka – 2011’, a collaboration between the Sri Lanka Navy and the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.
On her return journey, the vessel is commanded by SLN Captain ABC Danapala and manned by a crew of 50 SLN personnel. It is scheduled to reach its home port at Jakarta in Indonesia on 11th November 2012.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, November 5, 2012; Image: SLN