2026-02-19 / Debate (Continued): Judicature (Amendment) Bill and Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill - Committee and Third Reading 2026-02-19
## Summary
Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper raised concerns about Sri Lanka's failure to establish a complete national hydrographic charting system as required under the 1974 SOLAS Convention, arguing that this gap allowed private foreign companies to collect approximately USD 25 per vessel per chart box across 27 boxes from around 1975 to 2014, revenue he estimates could have yielded the State roughly USD 51 million annually. He acknowledged the passage of the National Hydrographic Act No. 7 of 2024 and the appointment of a National Hydrographer as positive steps, but noted that full charting remains incomplete due to the absence of a deep-water echo sounder. He called on the Government to immediately allocate USD 0.7 million to procure the necessary equipment and complete national hydrographic charting, and expressed concern that certain NARA officials had challenged the Act in the Supreme Court, questioning who stood to benefit from the continued absence of state-controlled charting revenue. The speaker indicated conditional support for the bill under debate while pressing for this specific budgetary action.
Madam Speaker, once again the Government has grabbed a small piece of a big subject. Let me focus on maritime safety and hydrography.
Under the 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), island states like Sri Lanka must have a Chief Hydrographic Officer with full authority to regulate navigation within our waters. Decades ago, in the absence of a national hydrographic framework, NARA informally delegated core functions to two private foreign companies. From around 1975 to 2014, those companies collected fees—about USD 25 automatically per vessel per charted sea “box,” across 27 chart boxes—much like a highway toll, because we lacked our own official charts. Thousands of ships transit our waters annually; that revenue went to private firms, not the State.
In 2024, then Minister of Justice Hon. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe brought the National Hydrographic Act, No. 7 of 2024, appointed a National Hydrographer (a Rear Admiral) and established a Council. Yet we still lack a complete national chart because we do not have the deep-water echo sounder. Australia assisted with shallow-water equipment, and those charts are done. For deep water, we need only USD 0.7 million. With comprehensive charts, and a modest USD 25 per transit, Sri Lanka can earn about USD 51 million per year. We have lost that for roughly 40 years.
Shockingly, some NARA officials even went to the Supreme Court against the Act—ask who benefits when USD 51 million a year does not reach the Treasury. I urge that USD 0.7 million be immediately allocated to procure the deep-water echo sounder and complete national hydrographic charting. We support the present bill, but the Government must also do this.