Commercial vessel damaged Tiger's sea attack: Navy

Colombo, Jan 21 (UNI) Sri Lankan Navy and the Tamil Tiger rebels engaged in a pitched battle out at sea "after a cluster of Sea Tiger boats attacked a government-charted commercial vessel" in the Point Pedro seas in the Northern Jaffna peninsula, the Lankan Navy said here today.

Navy Spokesman Commander P D K Dassanayake said the naval fast attack crafts, on routine patrol, had detected two clusters of at least 20 Sea Tiger boats off the rebel-held Vettilaikerni seas heading towards the commercial vessel, City of Liverpool, which was unloading foodstuffs at the Point Pedro jetty.

"The Dvora fast attack crafts engaged the Sea Tiger boats in the high seas few nautical miles away from the Kankesanthurai (KKS) harbour. At least five Sea Tiger boats managed to approach the commercial vessel and one of the explosive-laden suicide boat exploded close to the vessel due to navy fire, damaging the hull of the vessel," Commander Dassanayake told UNI over the phone.

"The sea water started coming into the commercial vessel and the naval engineers were in the process of towing it to the KKS harbour where the Northern Naval Command is housed," he said claiming three LTTE suicide boats were destroyed during the confrontation that lasted over three hours.

"The exact details of the damage caused to the commercial vessel, which was chartered by the Commercial General of Essential Service (CGES) to supply the people in the Jaffna peninsula, are not known immediately" the navy spokesman said.

He said the army launched artillery attack targeting the LTTE boats and Air Force fighter jets also assisted the navy in this task Details of casualties after the sea battle are not yet known.

UNI