{"id":150824,"date":"2025-07-20T17:43:34","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T00:43:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=150824"},"modified":"2025-07-21T16:08:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T23:08:22","slug":"the-turning-point-by-wasantha-karannagoda-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2025\/07\/20\/the-turning-point-by-wasantha-karannagoda-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cTHE TURNING POINT\u201d BY WASANTHA KARANNAGODA\u00a0\u00a0 PART 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Wasantha Karannagoda, former Commander of the Sri Lanka navy, has written a book titled, \u2018The Turning Point,  the navy\u2019s role in Sri Lanka\u2019s war\u201d published by Penguin India in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book  records the experiences of the  Sri Lanka Navy ,  at two specific periods of  the Eelam war,  first when  Karannagoda  was Commander Eastern Naval Area in 2003-2005 and second when Karannagoda   became   Commander of the Sri Lanka navy in 2005.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karannagoda was appointed    Commander Easter Naval Area in January  2003 .At the time his rank was Rear Admiral and was he was  third in order of seniority next to Navy Commander and Chief of staff . [1]<\/a>   This appointment  therefore looked like  a demotion. But Karannagoda hid his disappointment and took up duties  at Trincomalee as Eastern Naval Commander. <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He did so at a time when the Ceasefire Agreement was in\u00a0 effect\u00a0 and \u00a0LTTE power was at its peak. \u00a0Karannagoda took the view that the Ceasefire Agreement did not include the sea and proceeded to act accordingly. LTTE had forgotten to get the sea into the Ceasefire Agreement, therefore\u00a0 the\u00a0 territorial and economic\u00a0 sea came under the government of Sri Lanka. But\u00a0\u00a0 there were restrictions on the actions the navy could take.( See p 39 of the book.)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thereafter Karannagoda took over as Commander of the Navy. He succeeded Daya Sandagiri.(2001-2005).He\u00a0 held the position of Commander\u00a0 in the decisive period of 2005- 2009, when the war against the LTTE intensified and ended in victory for the government of Sri Lanka. I always believed that we could win the war against the LTTE, said Karannagoda in his book .<\/strong>[2]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karannagoda took the navy away from its escort function and made it a  fighting force.  The navy at the time was  engaged in escort duties for other ships. He improved its fighting  ability, with better weapons, equipment, boats. Karannagoda  revolutionized naval warfare with the introduction of small boat concept said Rohan Gunaratne in his foreword to the book. [3]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karannagoda  was instrumental in providing better  conditions  and standards for the sailors and officers. He   saw to the welfare of the sailors under him, which increased their morale  and made them  eager to fight the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The navy  was a key player in the defeat of the LTTE.  The navy crushed the  Sea Tiger wing  by early 2008.  Sea Tigers were fighting on land after that, observed Karannagoda in his  book.[4]<\/a> The navy\u2019s role in destroying the floating warehouses was crucial to  the defeat of the LTTE .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The events  described in the book are well known, such as  Sea Tigers, the  LTTE suicide boats,  the floating ware houses and  the Small Boat  concept with its  Arrow and Wave Rider boats. These operations were  given publicity by the media and the public know the main facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0This book\u00a0\u00a0 however, gives the inside story, with\u00a0\u00a0 dates, places, even the\u00a0 exact time\u00a0 of events. It gives\u00a0\u00a0 decisions, conversations, the sequence of events. There is an insistence on date and time. The several attacks on the navy by suicide boats in 2005 onwards, each carry the date and time.[5]<\/a>The role played by other navy officers is generously noted, the officers are mentioned by name. For\u00a0 each encounter described, Karannagoda\u00a0 lists the number of dead\u00a0 even if it is only one death, also the number injured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book contains many maps,  including   a  map of the critical  LTTE build up at  Sampur, shown to the authorities, indicating its huge  artillery reach . Maps  showing  LTTE Sea Tiger camps in north- east, Sampur and further down are also  shown (Map  no 4, 6, 7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a  good description of the navy headquarters at Trincomalee  , specially the Naval Dockyard, which we are told, also  contains   the Naval and Maritime Academy, and  Navdock which was responsible for   repairs and maintenance of  navy ships.[6]<\/a>   The Dockyard area  had many  beaches with roads that led to  them through the jungle.  From  the 1980s sentry points were  placed every 500 meters along the beach.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book gives a positive image of the navy.  There is information on  the routine surveillance operations  during the Eelam war,  as well as the  arrangements made  for the protection of Trincomalee and Colombo harbors during this period   and  the navy\u2019s  strategy to defeat the  Sea Tigers In Eelam war IV. The navy is proud of the fact that it  kept the sea route to Jaffna open throughout.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karannagoda paid\u00a0 attention to the security of \u00a0the \u00a0\u00a0Colombo and Trincomalee harbours.. LTTE\u00a0 tried to attack Colombo harbor twice, in January and June 2007.\u00a0 Navy destroyed the suicide boats before they got close to the harbor in the first \u00a0attack \u00a0and\u00a0 prevented underwater saboteurs\u00a0 from approaching the harbor in the \u00a0second.[9]<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The infrastructure at Trincomalee\u00a0 harbour \u00a0was\u00a0 inadequate and the harbor was not safe for ships. The number of alongside berths for ships and craft\u00a0 was grossly inadequate. Large ships were kept at anchor, which made things difficult for logistics and crew, as well as \u00a0security\u00a0 from LTTE attacks.<\/strong>[10]<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karannagoda\u00a0\u00a0 took measures to protect the\u00a0 merchant and naval vessels entering Trincomalee . He stationed FACS at the southern end facing Sampur .[11]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A high frequency surface wave\u00a0 radar\u00a0 was installed at Nilaweli to monitor movement of large vessels sailing 300 km from land.\u00a0 This provided surveillance between Point Pedro and Trincomalee .<\/strong>[12]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1999,  army troops stationed  north of Trincomalee were sent to Vavuniya and  the navy  was given the area  in Trincomalee ,vacated by the army. This was very beneficial to the  navy. This area was important in the defense of Trincomalee harbor.   Navy set up two independent  naval  units there, SLNS Vijayaba and SLNS Walagamba,  along the coast, with 500 men  each. They were   15 km and 35 km north of Trincomalee  . [13]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A naval cordon\u00a0 \u00a0from Mullaitivu to Kokkilai [14]<\/a> known as Operation Varuna Kirana has been set up in \u00a0In May 2001 <\/strong>to prevent Tiger guerrillas from smuggling in military supplies. It had\u00a0 a set pattern . LTTE simply shifted their operation to the northwest .[15]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karannagoda terminated Varuna Kirana .He did not allow a pattern to be established. He deployed craft on the basis of intelligence, \u00a0and changed the areas of deployment accordingly. This gave results.\u00a0 Eleven large fishing trawlers of the LTTE, carrying weapons \u00a0were destroyed\u00a0 in 2006.<\/strong>[16]<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0Karannagoda \u00a0faced opposition. In April 2003 Navy HQ\u00a0 received information\u00a0 in about a LTTE arms ship. navy was getting read to ambush it.\u00a0 Next day newspapers\u00a0 reported that a LTTE vessel had arrived and that navy was getting ready to attack . LTTE did not send the ship. A very senior officer at the Navy HQ had leaked the information He had done so not to help LTTE but to prevent Karannagoda from getting the credit [17]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>The same officer\u00a0 tried to scuttle another navy attack. In June 2003\u00a0\u00a0 navy was getting ready to accost a LTTE \u00a0ship detected in the high seas, without informing SLMM because the navy knew that the SLMM would\u00a0 alert the LTTE .While navy was getting ready, an order came from Defence Ministry that if the ship was a LTTE one then SLMM must be\u00a0 informed\u00a0 immediately.[18]<\/strong><\/a> \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was quiet \u00a0sabotage in the Eelam war. When he became Commander,\u00a0 Karannagoda found that\u00a0 Sri Lanka\u00a0 had placed an order with\u00a0 a company in Israel to provide 20 FACs with 20 and 30 mm \u00a0new \u00a0Oerlikon guns. [19]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0The navy \u00a0officers\u00a0 who went to Israel\u00a0 found that \u00a0they were getting refurbished old guns.[20]<\/a>\u00a0 These guns had been\u00a0\u00a0 removed from UK ships and were 20 years old. The firm had stopped production in 1980 and\u00a0 no one was manufacturing\u00a0 ammunition for it. Karannagoda\u00a0 cancelled the tender.[21]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 There was an inquiry \u00a0which \u00a0recommended disciplinary action against the three senior naval officers\u00a0 involved.[22]<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ferry, Pearl Cruise, which transported the army into and out of Jaffna, was \u00a0quite unsuitable for the task, but no attempt was made to replace it \u00a0with a \u00a0better ferry.[23]<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0Instead, the Pearl Cruise contract was extended every 3-6 months, continuously for more than\u00a0\u00a0 two years, \u00a0without going for a fresh tender.[24]<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it became necessary to install new sonar in Colombo Harbor, the \u00a0Chairman, \u00a0Port Authority got together with a friend and brought a fish finder which he wanted the navy to accept as sonar. He was reported and removed from the position of Chairman, recalled Karannagoda\u00a0 in his book.[25]<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0( continued)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 122.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/a> Rohan Gunaratne .foreword to The Turning point p xix<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/a> Rohan Gunaratne .foreword to The Turning point p xx<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 181-.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 177.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[10]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 172.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[11]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 253.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[12]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 177.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[13]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[14]<\/a> https:\/\/www.sundaytimes.lk\/010603\/sitrep.html<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[15]<\/a> Karannagoda The turning point p 286<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[16]<\/a> Karannagoda The turning point p 286<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[17]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 59,60.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[18]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 64,65.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[19]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 219.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[20]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 218.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[21]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 220.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[22]<\/a> Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 230.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[23]<\/a> Karannagoda The turning point p 171<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[24]<\/a> Karannagoda The turning point p 194<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[25]<\/a> Karannagoda The turning point p 271<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0KAMALIKA PIERIS Wasantha Karannagoda, former Commander of the Sri Lanka navy, has written a book titled, \u2018The Turning Point,  the navy\u2019s role in Sri Lanka\u2019s war\u201d published by Penguin India in 2025. The book  records the experiences of the  Sri Lanka Navy ,  at two specific periods of  the Eelam war,  first when  Karannagoda  was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-150824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150824\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}