NATA allowed to conduct research with Chinese ship

National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) has been given permission to conduct research with the Chinese Shi Yan 6 research ship anchored in the port of Colombo.
Dr. Kamal Tennakoon, Director General of NARA Institute, says that the permission was received yesterday afternoon. Accordingly, research teams will be dispatched in the next few days.
Dr Kamal Thennakone says that in the research, the impact of the ocean system on the seasonal weather including that of Sri Lanka will be studied.
The ship has a lot of high-tech equipment and instruments that can monitor the seabed and facilities to test the samples in the laboratories on the ship.
The ship has 260 tons of research equipment and can accommodate 60 people.
Shi Yan 6, which left China’s Guangzhou port on the 11th of last month, entered the Indian Ocean on the 19th.
This Shi Yan 6 research ship received much attention because of India’s concern regarding its journey to Sri Lanka.

However, when the Indian news service ANI asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabri on September 26, quoting the Daily Mirror newspaper of this country, whether the Chinese research ship Shi Yan 6 is scheduled to arrive in Remata this October, he emphasized that the permission for the ship has not been given.
In that interview, Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabri told the Indian news service ANI, “As far as I know, we have not allowed the ship to come to Sri Lanka in October. So, negotiations are going on. Indian security issues are very important, very important. We always consider it because we want to keep our region a peaceful region.”.
However, the Chinese research ship reached the port of Colombo on the afternoon of the 25th as previously planned. It is anchored at the South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) in Colombo Port.