Oct 26, Colombo: The United States Coast Guard has conducted a training exercise for the Sri Lankan Coast Guard under the Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Program in Trincomalee recently.

The initiative was developed to strengthen bilateral efforts to promote greater maritime security and featured four US Coast Guard trainers and 14 Sri Lankan Coast Guard officers and 10 enlisted trainees, a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Colombo said.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Program the U.S. Ambassador to Colombo Michele J. Sison has said that the EXBS program is the United States Government's premier initiative to help other countries improve their export control systems.

"It draws on expertise from the Departments of State, Homeland Security, Commerce, Energy, and Defense in order to provide a range of legal, licensing, and enforcement training and equipment for countries around the globe. We are pleased to be conducting this first of its kind training here with the Sri Lankan Coast Guard," Ambassador Sison has said.

Read Admiral Wijegunaratne, chief officer of the Trincomalee Naval Base, welcomed Ambassador Sison to the base with a memento and explained challenges for both the Navy and Coast Guard. (Picture - U.S. Embassy Colombo)

Ambassador Sison handed out certificates to Coast Guard Officers that completed U.S. course on maritime law enforcement and boarding training. (Picture - U.S. Embassy Colombo)

The training exercises began on October 15, 2012 and mark the first Boarding Officer Course to be held in Sri Lanka for the Sri Lanka Coast Guard. The course was designed to instruct the students on how to effectively train others in maritime law enforcement as Boarding Officers or Boarding Team Members.

The course is designed to provide host nation participants with classroom instruction and practical exercises in order to confidently conduct ship boardings. The goal of the training program is to provide the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out responsibilities required for enforcing maritime laws in a variety of operational settings.

Focus areas for training included: international law, smuggling trends; high risk search techniques; use of non-lethal force; ship boarding procedures; and drug identification and testing.

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