The Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Aviation, Nimal Siripala de Silva, opened the Merchant Shipping Secretariat falling under the purview of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Aviation, at its new premises at Technical Junction Maradana, Colombo 10 last week.
The relocation of the Merchant Shipping Secretariat to a more convenient location in Maradana was necessitated by an underground failure at its previous site in Colombo Fort.
This Secretariat undertakes a range of over 12 services in the realm of shipping and merchant shipping. These main functions include the formulation and regulation of rules and protocols pertaining to maritime activities in Sri Lanka, crafting and implementing local laws and regulations in alignment with international maritime statutes, issuance of Continuous Discharge Certificates (CDC) for Merchant Mariners, issuance of Certificates of Competency (CoC) for Marine Captains and Marine Engineers according to global standards, overseeing and regulating Merchant Marine Training Institutions established within Sri Lanka, registering vessels under the Sri Lankan flag, and providing status certificates and fee collection.
Currently, the Merchant Shipping Secretariat has issued 56,000 CDCs at an annual rate of approximately 2,500 certificates.
Through the employment opportunities extended to Sri Lankan merchant marines aboard foreign vessels, the Secretariat contributes around USD 120 million to Government revenue.