Sinking of A 520/MV Invincible

"Sri Lankan Navy has been credited with the sinking of more than a dozen logistic ships of the LTTE, which were employed for carrying the essentials from many parts of the Indian Ocean for sustaining the war effort. The ship that was sunk was apparently also used in the operations against three logistic ships of the Sea Tigers off Coco Island in 2007."
__________________________________

An exclusive analysis by Commodore RS Vasan IN (Retd)

(May 10, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) As per the reports received so far it has been confirmed that a SLN logistic support ship was sunk at about 0230 on Saturday 10 May 2008. As per preliminary reports the ship was at anchorage and was being loaded with explosives to be carried to KKS from Trincomalee.

The pattern of operations suggests that the tactics adopted may have been similar to the one that was followed during the sinking of a fast attack aircraft on 22nd Mar 2008. Since the ship was at anchorage, it is quite possible that underwater divers detonated some explosive device. Attaching of a limpet mine to the underwater hull of the ship is an option that may have been exercised by the Sea tigers. The depths off Trinco are very much favourable for such attacks. It is clear that there was perhaps that the standard precautions for preventing an underwater attack may have either failed or were not in place. The standard practice for preventing underwater attacks by divers is to have boat patrols and drop random scare charges to deter the divers. Divers also search the bottom of the ships at regular intervals to spot any explosive that may have been attached. . Many navies also use their sonars to cause damage to the eardrums due to the high power of the sonar. In addition it is also a practice to have grapnels towed behind the patrolling boat to cause injury to the saboteurs. Whether all these measures were in place is not known.

Sri Lankan Navy has been credited with the sinking of more than a dozen logistic ships of the LTTE, which were employed for carrying the essentials from many parts of the Indian Ocean for sustaining the war effort. The ship that was sunk was apparently also used in the operations against three logistic ships of the Sea Tigers off Coco Island in 2007.

This is the second such sinking in the last two months. While in the first attack of sinking the Fast Attack Craft in Mar 2008 the three suicide attackers were identified, it is only the name of the unit involved that has been made public this time by the LTTE. It is again not known if any of the black tigers lost their lives in the operation.

In conclusion, it is clear that that the Sea tigers still have the capability to surprise the SL Navy and would like to regain the control of the seas that is so essential for the tigers to replenish from many parts of the world including southern India.

(Commodore RS Vasan IN Retd has rendered distinguished military service of over 34 years .His shore assignments include command of two naval air stations, Maritime Air Squadron, Air Crew Examiner, member of the faculty at the College of Naval Warfare and Chief Staff Officer of the Southern Naval Command at Kochin. He commanded a patrol vessel for the IPKF. Prior to his retirement he was the Regional Commander of the Eastern Region of the Indian Coast Guard. Presently he is steering the Maritime Security Programme at the Observer Research Foundation a major Indian think-tank.)
- Sri Lanka Guardian