Sri Lanka has granted clearance for a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) research vessel to operate in its waters from August 15 to 20, 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed.
The decision comes after an earlier plan for the FAO-operated UN-flagged vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen was cancelled due to a lack of formal response from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The vessel’s deployment—requested by the Fisheries Ministry and coordinated through the UN—was intended to support climate-related programming and provide vital marine data.
A one-year moratorium on foreign research vessels expired in December 2024. Since then, the government has tasked an inter-ministerial committee with drafting new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), delaying approvals.
UN officials warned the cancellation could cost Sri Lanka over $1 million in lost support and affect future Green Climate Fund initiatives. The next possible deployment would not occur until after 2030. (Newswire)