SLNS ''Gajabahu'' (P626) () is an
Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel of the
Sri Lanka Navy
ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை
, image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png
, image_size = 180px
, caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy
, dates =
, c ...
. The ship is the second ship named after
King Gajabahu I, the warrior king of the medieval Sri Lankan
Kingdom of Anuradhapura
The Anuradhapura Kingdom ( Sinhala: , translit: Anurādhapura Rājadhāniya, Tamil: ), named for its capital city, was the first established kingdom in ancient Sri Lanka related to the Sinhalese people. Founded by King Pandukabhaya in 43 ...
.
Formerly, it was USCGC ''Sherman'' (WHEC-720) a
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, m ...
Hamilton-class high endurance cutter named for
John Sherman
John Sherman (May 10, 1823October 22, 1900) was an American politician from Ohio throughout the Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. A member of the Republican Party, he served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. He also served as ...
, the 32nd
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
and author of the
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author.
...
.
United States Coast Guard
CGC ''Sherman''s keel was laid on January 25, 1967 at Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was launched on September 3, 1968.
CGC ''Sherman'' was originally homeported in Boston, Massachusetts where her primary mission was ocean station patrol in the North Atlantic.
In 1970, ''Sherman'' was assigned to Coast Guard Squadron Three in Vietnam. Her tasking during the conflict was primarily in support of
Operation Market Time
Operation Market Time was the United States Navy, Republic of Vietnam Navy and Royal Australian Navy operation begun in 1965 to stop the flow of troops, war material, and supplies by sea, coast, and rivers, from North Vietnam into parts of ...
, which involved sorting through hundreds of small vessels off the Vietnamese coast in search of enemy weapons smugglers. ''Sherman''s crew inspected some 900 vessels during her 10-month tour in Southeast Asia. The old 5" gun (now replaced by a 76mm mount) answered 152 calls for naval gunfire support, including a running fight on the night of 21 November 1970 which resulted in sinking the North Vietnamese armed freighter ''SL-3'', which was carrying tons of enemy munitions.
In 1971, ''Sherman'' returned to Boston. With satellite technology reducing the need for ocean station patrols and amid concern of the rising American drug problem, the emphasis shifted to drug interdiction. In October 1976, ''Sherman'' seized the 275-foot Panamanian freighter ''Don Emilio'' and confiscated 82 tons of marijuana, the largest drug seizure in history at the time. Responding to a need for greater operational resources in the Pacific, ''Sherman'' was transferred to her next homeport in Alameda, California in May 1979. ''Sherman''s primary missions shifted to Alaskan Patrols (ALPAT) involving fisheries law enforcement (LE), drug interdiction, search and rescue (SAR), and military readiness in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. ''Sherman'' was decommissioned from May 1986 until July 1989 to complete a three-year Fleet Renovation and Modernization (FRAM) project at Todd Shipyard in Seattle, Washington. The project upgraded ''Sherman''s weapons, communications, aviation and other operating systems and completely renovated crew living and berthing spaces. ''Sherman'' completed ready-for-sea trials in July 1990 and once again commenced operational missions in the Pacific.
In July 2001, ''Sherman'' became the first Coast Guard cutter to
circumnavigate the world, after conducting U.N. sanctions enforcement duty in the Persian Gulf and goodwill projects in Madagascar, South Africa, and Cape Verde.
''Sherman'' was involved in search and rescue efforts following the sinking of
F/V ''Big Valley'' near
Saint Paul Island, Alaska
Saint Paul Island (russian: Остров Святого Павла, Ostrov Svyatogo Pavla) is the largest of the Pribilof Islands, a group of four Alaskan volcanic islands located in the Bering Sea between the United States and Russia. The city o ...
, on January 15, 2005.
CGC ''Sherman'' appeared in the 2005 film ''
Yours Mine & Ours''.
In May 2006, the cutter participated with a U.S. Navy task group during a five-month deployment to Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines. In March 2007, ''Sherman'' received worldwide attention when her boarding team discovered more than 17 metric tons of cocaine aboard the Panamanian freighter ''Gatun'', a record seizure in the Eastern Pacific. ''Sherman'' was awarded the Golden Eagle award by the White House for combined interdiction successes during 2007.
In May 2011, ''Sherman'' was transferred to San Diego, California. ''Sherman'' continued her operations by accomplishing three drug interdiction deployments in the Eastern Pacific, a winter Alaskan patrol in the Bering Sea to enforce U.S. fisheries regulations and to provide search-and-rescue support during the Alaskan
red king crab harvest, and by earning the Pacific Area Operational Readiness Award.
In May 2015, ''Sherman'' transferred her homeport to Honolulu, Hawaii.
After a final patrol in the Bering Sea, ''Sherman'' returned to Honolulu on January 23, 2018
to await decommissioning on March 29, 2018. Two new
National Security Cutters
The Legend-class cutter, also known as the National Security Cutter (NSC) and Maritime Security Cutter, Large, is the largest active patrol cutter class of the United States Coast Guard. Entering into service in 2008, the Legend-class is the la ...
will replace ''Sherman'' and the previously-retired in Honolulu.
Sri Lanka Navy
On 27 August 2018, at Honolulu, the ex-''Sherman'' was transferred to the
Sri Lanka Navy
ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை
, image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png
, image_size = 180px
, caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy
, dates =
, c ...
. Ex-''Sherman'' was recommissioned 6 June 2019 as SLNS ''Gajabahu'' (P626). The ship is the second ship named after
King Gajabahu I, the warrior king of the medieval Sri Lankan
Kingdom of Anuradhapura
The Anuradhapura Kingdom ( Sinhala: , translit: Anurādhapura Rājadhāniya, Tamil: ), named for its capital city, was the first established kingdom in ancient Sri Lanka related to the Sinhalese people. Founded by King Pandukabhaya in 43 ...
. The ship retained its
Otobreda 76 mm
The OTO Melara 76 mm gun is a naval gun built and designed by the Italian defence company OTO Melara. It is based on the OTO Melara 76/62C and evolved toward 76/62 SR and 76/62 Strales.
The system is compact enough to be installed on re ...
gun and
MK 92 Fire Control System, while the
Phalanx CIWS
The Phalanx CIWS (often spoken as "sea-wiz") is a gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the Gen ...
was removed and was replaced with a rear
dual 23mm cannon.
On July 9th, 2022 following the
2022 Sri Lankan protests
The 2022 Sri Lankan protests ( si, අරගලය, translit=Aragalaya, lit=Struggle), are mass protests that began in March 2022 against the government of Sri Lanka. The government has been criticized for mismanaging the Sri Lankan economy, ...
, video circulating on social media purported to show Sri Lankan President
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa ( si, නන්දසේන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; ta, நந்தசேன கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ; born 20 June 1949) is a former Sri Lankan military ...
fleeing Sri Lanka aboard the SLNS Gajabahu.
See also
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SLNS Gajabahu
SLNS ''Gajabahu'' (named after '' Gajabahu'', a former king of Sri Lanka) was a of the Sri Lanka Navy. She has since been converted to a training ship for the Naval & Maritime Academy, Trincomalee. She was originally HMCS ''Hallowell'' of the R ...
*
SLNS Parakramabahu (P625)
SLNS ''Parakramabahu'' (P625) () is a Type 053H2G class frigate of the Sri Lanka Navy. The ship is the second ship named after King Parakramabahu I, the warrior king of the medieval Sri Lankan Kingdom of Polonnaruwa. Gifted by the People's L ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gajabahu (P626)
Ships of the United States Coast Guard
Hamilton-class cutters
1968 ships
Hamilton-class cutters of the Sri Lanka Navy
Ships built in Bridge City, Louisiana