{"id":155809,"date":"2026-04-21T16:07:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=155809"},"modified":"2026-04-21T16:07:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:07:46","slug":"sri-lanka-once-built-welding-excellence-with-ingenuity-today-we-wait-for-imports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/04\/21\/sri-lanka-once-built-welding-excellence-with-ingenuity-today-we-wait-for-imports\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka Once Built Welding Excellence with Ingenuity \u2014 Today We Wait for Imports"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dr. Sarath Obeysekera<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

In 1984, I returned to Sri Lanka after working in the harsh, demanding offshore environment of the North Sea. There, welding was not just a trade\u2014it was a science governed by precision, discipline, and unforgiving standards. When I joined Colombo Dockyard as a consulting engineer, I stepped into a yard that had potential\u2014but lacked the technological backbone to move beyond conventional ship repair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happened next is a lesson Sri Lanka must urgently relearn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, we were presented with what many would have considered an impossible task. A French contractor approached the dockyard with a requirement that was far removed from routine marine work. We were asked to roll  20\/40 mm thick steel plates into pipes of approximately half a meter to 2 meter in diameter\u2014and weld them to X-ray quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me be clear: this was not ordinary fabrication. Thick plate rolling at that tolerance is difficult even today. Welding such material to radiographic standards, with consistency, was something even established yards would hesitate to undertake without proper automation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we had almost nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No advanced automatic welding systems. No proper pipe rolling and welding  machines. Only a few semi-automatic PUG welding units\u2014and a determination to find a way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of rejecting the job, we engineered a solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, we tackled the biggest constraint\u2014pipe rolling. Colombo Dockyard simply did not have the required machinery. Rather than waiting for capital investment or foreign assistance, we looked within the country. With the support of my good friend, Chairman Premachandra, we identified an idle pipe rolling machine at the Puttalam Cement Corporation. That machine was relocated, reinstalled, and brought back to life at the dockyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That single decision saved months of delay and massive foreign exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next came the welding challenge. We did not have automated pipe welding systems, so we built one. Our in-house electronic engineer\u2014one of the unsung geniuses this country quietly produces\u2014designed a rotating pipe mechanism. We mounted welding units onto a carriage system that could travel along the circumference of the pipe, maintaining consistency in speed and arc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In essence, we created a primitive but effective automated welding system using local ingenuity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sections of pipes, about 2 to 5 meters long, were rolled, aligned, and welded under controlled conditions. And the result?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We passed X-ray inspection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That moment was more than a technical success\u2014it was a transformation. Colombo Dockyard had crossed a threshold. We were no longer just repairing ships. We were fabricating with precision. We had entered a new technological era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From that point onward, the yard steadily advanced. It undertook more complex welding jobs, fabricated oil tanks, supported projects in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and built a reputation that extended beyond our shores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But here is the uncomfortable question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What has happened to that spirit today?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1980s, we had fewer resources\u2014but more initiative. Today, we have access to global technology, financing models, and partnerships\u2014yet we hesitate. We wait for foreign investors, imported machinery, and external validation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have forgotten how to build.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current discussion about developing Sri Lanka into a marine and offshore hub misses a critical point. This transformation will not come from policy documents, foreign joint ventures, or expensive robotic systems alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will come from rebuilding a culture of engineering problem-solving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world is changing again. With instability in the Middle East, global ship repair and fabrication demand is shifting. Labour markets are tightening. Costs are rising. This is not a crisis\u2014it is an opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But only if we act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Recreate in-house engineering capability within our yards<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Train welders not just as \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0645\u0627\u0644, but as skilled technicians<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Encourage improvisation, innovation, and ownership<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Invest in mechanization where it matters\u2014but not become dependent on it<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Sri Lanka once proved that it could rise to a global standard with limited means and bold thinking. I witnessed it firsthand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We did not wait for the perfect conditions. We created them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If we continue to wait today\u2014waiting for investors, waiting for technology, waiting for direction\u2014we will miss this opportunity just as we have missed many before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The lesson from 1985 is simple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A nation that can engineer solutions with what it has will always move forward.<\/strong>
    A nation that waits for perfect solutions will remain where it is.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Sri Lanka must decide which one it wants to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Regards

    Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

    By Dr. Sarath Obeysekera In 1984, I returned to Sri Lanka after working in the harsh, demanding offshore environment of the North Sea. There, welding was not just a trade\u2014it was a science governed by precision, discipline, and unforgiving standards. When I joined Colombo Dockyard as a consulting engineer, I stepped into a yard that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sarath-obeysekera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155809","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=155809"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155810,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155809\/revisions\/155810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}