KAMALIKA PIERIS

During  the Eelam war, the Navy was heavily  engaged in escort duties. The cargo and fuel shipped to Jaffna from Trincomalee to Colombo were escorted by the navy.   The passenger ferry carrying civilians sailed under navy security. [1]   The LTTE closed the A9 road to Jaffna and the  government  forces had to take a sea route to the north. Navy  provided an escort for all such  sea journeys.

Navy was  responsible for the transfer of army personnel  to and from Jaffna. In 1999 navy acquired  two new fast passenger carriers capable of  carrying 300 passengers at  25 knots, named Hansaya and Lihiniya. They sailed  together every day,    carrying military personnel form Trincomalee to Kankesanturai . In Oct 2000 LTTE  destroyed Hansaya completely  and Lihiniya partially. 

In 2003 the  government direct navy to charter a suitable passenger ferry for military personnel to travel to and from Jaffna.[2]   A fast moving ferry capable   of doing  25 knots  was needed.[3]   

 Instead  they hired Pearl Cruise” .Pearl Cruise carried 700 troops at a time, mostly army personnel, from Trincomalee to Kankesanturai  and vice versa.[4]   LTTE attacked Pearl Cruise in May 2006 using suicide boats. Pearl Cruise  was saved because of a brave gesture by Lieutenant Commander Edirisinghe  who had rammed the LTTE suicide boat heading for Pearl Cruise. Both craft   exploded killing LTTE and  navy personnel.   This was the bravest act by naval personnel in the Eelam war, said Karannagoda.[5] 

 Pearl Cruise was  very unsatisfactory . Its speed of less than 11 knots was too slow. Conditions on Pearl cruise were pathetic, said Karannagoda in  his book. Soldiers were   packed like sardines and it  took nearly 16-18 hours per journey. [6]   

Pearl Cruise was to be temporary but no attempt was made to replace it  with a ferry having better speed.[7]   Instead, the  Navy Commander    kept extending the Pearl Cruise contract every 3-6 months, continuously for more than   two years,  without going for a fresh tender.[8]    

 When he became Commander in 2005 Karannagoda  called an international tender for a  suitable passenger  ferry  having the  required speed.[9] They found a suitable ferry in Indonesia, the Jetliner, [10] with speed of 30 knots  and  four engines of a make  which the navy was familiar with.[11]  It could carry up to 100  metric tons of weapons, food and medicine and could easily accommodate 200 vehicles.[12]

 Jetliner arrived in Trincomalee  around 2 pm on 22 July 2006 ,[13]    protected all the way  from  Indonesia to Sri Lanka , from pirates and LTTE. It was  most welcome. Jetliner could keep a minimum distance of over 50 km,[14]     30 nautical miles from land. Sea conditions became rougher as the distance increased from coastline,  and Jetliner could  face  these rough condition,  LTTE boats  could not, Karannagoda observed.[15]  [16] 

On arrival in Sri Lanka  Jetliner was converted to a warship by installing eight 14.5 mm guns for its protection. In addition, it carried four IGLA missiles, 40 LMGs and technical equipment including modern radar was installed, said Rear Admiral (Rtd) Noel Kalubowila in an interview for Ceylon Today.[17]

Kalubowila also  observed that  Jetliner  had a massive cafeteria,  and areas where troops could engage in small games. We showed two movies. These helped relax the mind. Jetliner  contributed to boosting the morale of troops by facilitating safe travel.” [18]

 Jetliner could carry more than 3000 troops in one go, at a speed of  28-30 knots and  took less than 6 hours to complete the  one way trip between Trincomalee and Kankesanturai .[19]   Troops traveling in Jetliner were fresh and ready to serve, unlike on Pearl Cruise. Time spent by the navy on escort was  also reduced.  Jetliner was used only once a week, so  accompanying naval craft  were could be used for other work for the rest of the week.[20] 

Jetliner made the first voyage to Kankesanturai  from Trincomalee  during day time. Ferry left around 8 am and reached  destination around 2 pm the same day,[21]   stayed overnight at Kankesanturai  and then sailed back to Trincomalee the next day. Date of this first sailing is not available.

LTTE attacked Jetliner at Trincomalee harbour  on its second voyage in 2 August 2006 when it was returning form Kankesanturai  with 1700 army  personnel. [22] It was an all out attack with four LTTE  suicide  boats, 8 attack boats and  LTTE airplanes.[23]

 LTTE  fired into the inner  Harbor  to  which   Jetliner was heading. LTTE also fired at  the  Naval dockyard, Air force camp[24] at China Bay and the army camp  at Trincomalee  harbour. [25]  at the same time,  there was an LTTE  attack on the army and navy camps in Mutur. It was clear that  LTTE had planned this for some time and had  waited for Jetliner observed Karannagoda .[26]

At Trincomalee , the last 15 rounds  of LTTE artillery had hit the  harbour entrance. This meant that some one had acted as the forward spotter for the LTTE and had given the necessary correction for the firing. The spotter may  have been stationed on the harbour road , which is  the  northern boundary of the inner harbor .  [27] 

We were  prepared for this attack and countered it, Karannagoda  said. The attack  only lasted 30 minutes. The navy response was too strong for the LTTE . Navy had fired back using  the 122 army MBRL installed in Naval Dockyard  in 2002 to face the Sampur  threat. .Navy destroyed 3 suicide boats and four attack boats of the  LTTE . No Sri Lanka Navy craft was damaged as a result of the artillery attack but 5 sailors were killed and 40 wounded in the Dockyard Naval Base[28] LTTE withdrew. Jetliner entered the harbor without a scratch .[29] 

  After this attack, Jetliner was quickly   dispatched, late at night to Galle. This is described in detail in the book. [30]     The navy upgraded the fighting capacity of   Jetliner while it was berthed at Galle.[31]

Having failed to destroy Jetliner, LTTE  then wanted Jetliner sent back to Indonesia. They used  two  officials  in the Indonesian embassy  in Sri Lanka .These two embassy officials  went to Galle and spoke to the crew, who  announced that  they  wanted to return to Indonesia with the ship. Sri Lanka resisted. The Indonesia crew were sent back and Jetliner remained with the navy.[32] 

The LTTE camp at Sampur  in Koddiyar bay, with its formidable artillery was destroyed  on the instruction of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.[33]  Jetliner returned  to Trincomalee  and berthed at Nicholson Cove, which was the only safe place for it. Due to  LTTE air threat,  anti aircraft guns were installed in several strategic places at Nicholson Cove, on board Jetliner itself and in the Naval Dockyard. Seach lights were also installed in selected strategic positions.[34]

Thereafter  Jetliner went once a week to Jaffna during daylight hours carrying 3000 troops each day. [35]  Jetliner continued  its weekly  journey until the war ended. It was returned to Indonesia in 2012.[36]   

Since Jetliner carried more than 3,000 unarmed soldiers at a time, Sri Lanka Navy paid utmost attention to protecting it from enemy attack on its journey from Trincomalee to Kankesanturai  and back.[37]The probability of LTTE  aircraft trying to target the ferry was very high .Jetliner was at the top of LTTE’s target list and there had been five subsequent attacks on it at different times.[38] The   Jetliner voyage was closely monitored,[39] Navy Commander, Vice Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda  did  not move from the Operation Room until  the operation was over.  Embarkation and dis-embarkation on Jetliner was time consuming task.[40]

This weekly voyage was a special ops for the entire navy. It was all hands on deck when the Jetliner  started its voyage The procedure is described  in great detail in the book.[41] On days of Jetliner voyage, the entire Naval  Dockyard went into action stations from midnight. All naval craft and ships inside  the harbour   had their anti aircraft guns ready against the LTTE  air threat.  Regular exercises were conducted to prepare all naval personnel in the Jetliner and in the Naval Dockyard against possible LTTE bombing raids

 Before Jetliner  embarked , waves of FAC were sent out at intervals to comb the area. They included 24 FACs,  4 FGBs  and two offshore patrols. In march 2007, sixty Arrow and Wave rider were added.[42] .   8 FACs sailed with Jetliner forming a screen around it. [43]  Twenty  Dvoras and Arrow boats  went  alongside,[44] added Kalubowila. .A team of  air force personnel were stationed on the upper deck of the  Jet liner during her journeys, with surface to air missiles  as well.[45] ( continued)

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[1] Karannagoda The turning point p 244

[2] Karannagoda The turning point p 245

[3] Karannagoda The turning point p 245

[4] Karannagoda The turning point p 171

[5] Karannagoda The turning point p197,198

[6] Karannagoda The turning point p 171

[7] Karannagoda The turning point p 171

[8] Karannagoda The turning point p 194

[9] Karannagoda The turning point p 194

[10] Karannagoda The turning point p 248

[11] Karannagoda The turning point p 247

[12] Gagani Weerakoonv.https://ceylontoday.lk/2024/05/18/jetliner-the-lifeline-of-humanitarian-operation/

[13] Karannagoda The turning point p 249

[14] Karannagoda The turning point p 247

[15] Karannagoda The turning point p 250

[16] Karannagoda The turning point p 249

[17] Gagani Weerakoonv.https://ceylontoday.lk/2024/05/18/jetliner-the-lifeline-of-humanitarian-operation/

[18] Gagani Weerakoonv.https://ceylontoday.lk/2024/05/18/jetliner-the-lifeline-of-humanitarian-operation/

[19] Karannagoda The turning point p 171, 172

[20] Karannagoda The turning point p 171, 172

[21] Karannagoda The turning point p 171, 172

[22] Karannagoda The turning point p 253

[23] https://www.sundaytimes.lk/080831/Columns/sitreport.html

[24] Karannagoda The turning point p 254

[25] Gagani Weerakoonv.https://ceylontoday.lk/2024/05/18/jetliner-the-lifeline-of-humanitarian-operation/

[26] Karannagoda The turning point p 255

[27] Karannagoda The turning point p 256, 257

[28] Gagani Weerakoonv.https://ceylontoday.lk/2024/05/18/jetliner-the-lifeline-of-humanitarian-operation/

[29] Karannagoda The turning point p 254

[30] Karannagoda The turning point p 264

[31]Gagani Weerakoonv.https://ceylontoday.lk/2024/05/18/jetliner-the-lifeline-of-humanitarian-operation/

[32] Karannagoda The turning point p 264, 265

[33] Karannagoda The turning point p 251

[34] Karannagoda The turning point p 272

[35] Karannagoda The turning point p 266

[36] Karannagoda The turning point p 274

[37] Gagani Weerakoonv.https://ceylontoday.lk/2024/05/18/jetliner-the-lifeline-of-humanitarian-operation/

[38] Gagani Weerakoonv.https://ceylontoday.lk/2024/05/18/jetliner-the-lifeline-of-humanitarian-operation/

[39] Karannagoda The turning point p 269

[40] Karannagoda The turning point p 172

[41] Karannagoda The turning point p 266-269

[42] Karannagoda The turning point p 267

[43] Karannagoda The turning point p 268

[44] Gagani Weerakoonv.https://ceylontoday.lk/2024/05/18/jetliner-the-lifeline-of-humanitarian-operation/

[45] Karannagoda The turning point p 272