Preserving Sri Lanka's Maritime Heritage
Since 1965, the Diving & Salvage Unit of the Sri Lanka Navy has been at the forefront of underwater operations. Our journey spans over six decades of dedicated service, technical innovation, and remarkable achievements in preserving Sri Lanka's rich underwater cultural heritage.
Our Mission
To preserve, document, and share Sri Lanka's maritime heritage by providing accurate, secure, and accessible shipwreck data. We are committed to supporting research, safeguarding underwater cultural heritage, and promoting awareness of the nation's naval history while ensuring responsible exploration and conservation of our marine environment.
Our Vision
To be Sri Lanka's trusted national platform for shipwreck information and a globally recognised hub for maritime research, heritage conservation, and knowledge-sharing—celebrating the nation's rich naval legacy and inspiring future generations to value and protect the ocean's hidden treasures.
Complete Historical Timeline
The 1960s - Foundation Years
A severe cyclonic storm had blown across Northern Ceylon. The economic damage caused in Ceylon was estimated exceeding Rs.200 million and at least 1000 were killed.
AB A Kulathunga, AB PDHCA Gunawardane, AB Hillary M Berenger, AB George C Arndt and AB H Penry White were identified as the First five divers of the Royal Ceylon Navy.
Established the Diving & Salvage Unit under the leadership of Lt T Somasundaram.
US Navy trained the available local diving team with newcomers (Lt T Somasundaram, Lt Basnayaka and Lt Rajasingham and the five sailors) on practices of SCUBA, Salvage techniques, Underwater Explosives, Demolitions and Equipment Maintenance.
Notable Achievement: Successfully completed the Salvage Operation of re-floating IS Goschen.
Lt Somasundaram & LCdr (Surg) Amarasinghe were sent to USA to specialize in Salvage and Underwater Demolition and after in Underwater Medicine.
REB Jayarathne, B Vanculenbury, HMS Perera, JA Fernando and GB Kadurugamuwa were qualified as Diver Class III as the second batch.
MF Calistus, Malcom J Peterson, WULJA Perera, B Vanculenberg and Ananda Haluwana were qualified as Diver Class III as the third batch.
The 1970s - Expansion & Development
Obtained a One-Man Decompression Chamber and two civilian divers survived from decompression sickness using the Chamber.
Facilitating Apollo 12 Astronauts for a recreational dive off Elephant Island of Trincomalee harbour.
Kulathunga, White & Vanculenberg cleared Underwater obstruction that had blocked intakes and surge chambers of Luxapana hydro.
Salvage of Sunken Tug Boat Weligowwa from depth of 60 feet at Trincomalee harbour.
The 1980s - Technological Advancement
A Ten-person two lock state chamber from German manufacturer HAUX was established at the Diving And salvage Unit.
The 1990s - Institutional Growth
Indian Navy began to offer Clearance Diving Officer Course for SLN Officers.
Salvage of EX SLNS Kandula.
Cleared the 3 Fathom Jetty from the wreck SLNS Sooraya and Ranasuru by oxy arc and explosive cutting.
25th patient treated at recompression chamber for the DCS.
The Diving School was established under the command of LCdr (CDO) UVMP Perera and with six sailors.
Old one-man Chamber was replaced with a Dragger single person chamber with feature to connect up and transfer patient to the main chamber.
The 2000s - Operational Excellence
Salvage of EX A 542 & Recovery MI 24 attack helicopter.
Salvage of EX Naval Vessels A 512, SLNS Ranasuru & SLNS Sooraya to clear two fathom jetties.
Salvage of SLNS Parakramabahu and Salvage the ship of NARA "Sayuri" within six days with 11 divers.
50th patient treated at recompression chamber for the DCS.
Salvage of LTTE craft "Indumathi".
Salvage of Fast Attack Craft -- P 413.
Salvage of P 461 fast attack craft.
Salvage of P 416 fast attack craft.
Salvage of Cargo Barge of Mineral Sand Company Ltd.
Rescue the crew on board and prevent sinking of MV Nimalawa after the attack from LTTE suicide craft.
Re-float the grounded SLN craft and merchant vessels in Kankasanthurei harbour due to hurricane 'Nisha'.
Salvage of Auxiliary ship A 520.
Salvage operation of SLNS Parakramabahu after the LTTE Attack to Galle Harbour.
The 2010s - Modernization & Heritage
Salvage of Lion Air Antenor 24 Air Craft off Iranathive to facilitate an investigation.
Salvage of IPC P246 sunk due to bad weather at Trincomalee harbour.
The salvage operation of the SS Sagaing was a remarkable achievement by the Sri Lanka Navy. After several months of dedicated effort, the SS Sagaing was successfully refloated.
The 2020s - Innovation & Public Engagement
Sri Lanka first underwater museum has opened in Galle Coastal area, the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka.
Second underwater museum in Sri Lanka declared open in Trincomalee.
Sri Lanka Navy divers played a crucial role in mitigating the disaster caused by the fire on the MT New Diamond.
Third underwater museum in Sri Lanka Declared open in Nilwella.
A Chinese fishing vessel named "Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028" capsized in the Indian Ocean. The Sri Lankan Navy divers played a crucial role in the search and rescue operation, recovering several bodies from the sunken vessel.
The Sri Lanka Navy divers played a crucial role in responding to the X-Press Pearl disaster, a major maritime disaster that occurred.
Cdr HBNH Balasooriya, achieved a significant milestone in diving history by successfully diving to a depth of 100 meters. This achievement set a new national record for deep-sea diving.
SLN Divers risked their lives to rescue a skipper from a capsized fishing trawler in rough sea conditions.
An armored tank was deployed to the underwater museum at Trincomalee.
An armored tank was deployed to the underwater museum at Nilawella.
An extraordinary diving expedition was carried out at Basses Lighthouse with 20 officers, including the Commander of the Navy, and 10 sailors.
The Diving unit of Sri Lanka Navy conducted an exploratory diving exercise, to make a tribute to the Commanding Officer and crew of HMS Hermes who perished in the attack.
Six Decades of Maritime Excellence
From our humble beginnings in 1965 with just five divers to becoming a premier maritime heritage preservation unit, our journey reflects dedication, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to safeguarding Sri Lanka's underwater cultural heritage for future generations. Through countless salvage operations, rescue missions, and heritage preservation projects, we continue to build upon the legacy of those first pioneering divers.