Sri Lanka is looking to introduce new laws through which it will ask ships passing through to pay, the Government said.
The National Hydrographic Bill is to be introduced in Parliament which gives the necessary legal authority to create electronic navigation charts so that the Government can earn an annual dollar income from ships sailing through Sri Lankan waters.
The matter was discussed by the Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security which met in Parliament recently under the chairmanship of Member of Parliament Sarath Weerasekera, the Parliament communications department said today.
Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, who was present at the committee meeting, said that since 1983, the right to receive dollars from ships traveling through Sri Lankan waters has not been exercised.
Rajapakshe said that Sri Lanka will get the necessary legal powers to do this through the new Bill.
The National Hydrographic Office will be established once the Bill is passed by Parliament and will be used to register hydrographic surveyors and nautical cartographers and make provisions for related matters. (Colombo Gazette)
Post a Comment