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57-599: SLNS Samudura (P621) ( Sinhala : සමුදුර , romanized:  Samudura ) is a Sri Lanka Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel . Originally commissioned by the United States Coast Guard in 1968 as the medium endurance cutter USCGC Courageous , she was donated to Sri Lanka in 2004 and commissioned on 19 February 2005. The Courageous was built at the American Shipyards in Lorain, Ohio by

114-412: A go-fast 11 miles north of Cay Sal Bank, Bahamas. Two of the migrants are suspected to be smugglers and were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol. INS interviews were conducted on cutter Courageous . On 12 September, the migrants were transferred to cutter Nantucket and returned to Cuba. As of October 2001, a memo from the cutter noted that: During a recent 45-day deployment, Courageous patrolled

171-628: A 30-ft speedboat 50 miles south of the Florida Keys, with the assistance of a Coast Guard HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter. The Courageous boarding team discovered that the "go-fast" was smuggling migrants from Cuba to South Florida, and had 17 migrants secreted into a small locker in the bow of the speedboat. Most of the Cubans were unconscious and near death from dehydration, and the crew of the Courageous quickly recovered all seventeen onboard where

228-662: A Dravidian origin for this word. ), dola for pig in Vedda and offering in Sinhala. Other common words are rera for wild duck, and gala for stones (in toponyms used throughout the island, although others have also suggested a Dravidian origin). There are also high frequency words denoting body parts in Sinhala, such as olluva for head, kakula for leg, bella for neck and kalava for thighs, that are derived from pre-Sinhalese languages of Sri Lanka. The oldest Sinhala grammar, Sidatsan̆garavā , written in

285-657: A boy suffering from the bends from the F/V M.M. Winter off the coast of Florida . On 21 April 1969, crewmen boarded the German M/V Helga Witt following a request by the ship's commanding officer concerning armed men on board. The Courageous then escorted the German merchantman to San Juan. On 29 and 30 April 1969, she assumed duty of on-scene commander, following a fire on the British tanker Mobile Apex , taking

342-520: A casualty when an elevator in the galley collapsed and killed SS3 Dean Renolds in 1973. On 21 December 1977, Courageous seized the vessel Isla de Aruba carry illegal drugs, marking the beginning of her duties on the "front lines of the drug war." On 18 March 1982, she seized the Cayman Island-flagged Damocles carrying 28 tons of marijuana. She changed homeports once again in 1982 to Key West . On 25 January 1984, she seized

399-502: A hazard to navigation. The migrants were transferred to Courageous where Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) interviews were conducted. On 12 September, the nine migrants were transferred to the cutter Nantucket and returned to Cuba. On 3 September, Coast Guard Station Marathon intercepted nine Cuban migrants, 10 miles south of Sombrero Key Light . All nine migrants were transferred to cutter Padre for further transfer to cutter Courageous for INS interviews. On 9 September,

456-473: A new computer system was installed in the cutter's combat information center. Having completed the repairs to the shaft alignment and undergoing extensive crew training and ready for sea preparations, Courageous arrived at her new homeport of Panama City, Florida , on 3 February 1991. She was formally recommissioned on 16 March 1991. Courageous once again began performing her routine maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, and defense readiness patrols in

513-779: A period of prior bilingualism: "The earliest type of contact in Sri Lanka, not considering the aboriginal Vedda languages, was that which occurred between South Dravidian and Sinhala. It seems plausible to assume prolonged contact between these two populations as well as a high degree of bilingualism. This explains why Sinhala looks deeply South Dravidian for an Indo-Aryan language. There is corroboration in genetic findings." In addition to many Tamil loanwords , several phonetic and grammatical features also present in neighbouring Dravidian languages set modern spoken Sinhala apart from its Northern Indo-Aryan relatives. These features are evidence of close interactions with Dravidian speakers. Some of

570-439: A raft, 40 miles south of Marathon, Florida . Cutter Courageous embarked the migrants where INS interviews were conducted. One of the migrants was returned to Cuba on 9 September, the remaining migrant was transferred to cutter Nantucket and returned to Cuba on 12 September. On 3 September, an Air Station Miami HU-25 aircraft spotted a 25-foot vessel with approximately 28 Cuban migrants on board. Cutter Courageous intercepted

627-585: A small fishing vessel with 5 tons of marijuana on board near Rum Cay , and on 18 August 1984, they seized P/C Mayo with 5 tons of marijuana on board near Rum Cay. On the same day, they seized the P/C Miriam C 65 miles northeast of Nassau , carrying 15 tons of marijuana. On 24 August 1984, her crew took a break from law enforcement, and rescued 10 from the M/V Rio Teta , which the crew had scuttled to avoid being searched. On 14 January 1985, they seized

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684-716: A squadron of over seven ships to raid the British-held island in order to secure supplies and munitions. In an event known as the Battle of Nassau, on March 3 and 4, Hopkins landed the first-ever amphibious assault by American military forces consisting of 250 Marines and sailors . Under the covering fire of the Providence and Wasp , the attackers overwhelmed Fort Montague. The British retreated to Fort Nassau, but then surrendered to Continental forces. The Americans managed to secure 88 cannon and 15 mortars , but most of

741-696: A work boat with 20 tons of marijuana on board. On 17 March 1984, Courageous seized another work boat with 20 tons of marijuana on board northwest of Providence Channel. On 20 March 1984, a boarding team seized the F/V Griffon 75 miles east of Great Abaco Island carrying 30 pounds of marijuana. On 6 May 1984, her boarding team seized the M/V Canta Dora , 14 mile north of New Providence Island , carrying 10 tons of marijuana. On 25 June 1984, they seized M/V Henry I 100 miles north of Yucatán Channel , carrying 8.5 tons of marijuana. Courageous seized

798-463: Is a conspicuous example of the linguistic phenomenon known as diglossia . Sinhala ( Siṁhala ) is a Sanskrit term; the corresponding Middle Indo-Aryan ( Eḷu ) word is Sīhala . The name is a derivative of siṁha , the Sanskrit word for 'lion'. The name is sometimes glossed as 'abode of lions', and attributed to a supposed former abundance of lions on the island. According to

855-599: Is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka , who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 million. Sinhala is also spoken as the first language by other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, totalling about 2 million speakers as of 2001. It is written using the Sinhala script , which is a Brahmic script closely related to the Grantha script of South India. Sinhala

912-484: Is divided into four epochs: The most important phonetic developments of Sinhala include: According to Wilhelm Geiger , an example of a possible Western feature in Sinhala is the retention of initial /v/ which developed into /b/ in the Eastern languages (e.g. Sanskrit viṁśati "twenty", Sinhala visi- , Hindi bīs ). This is disputed by Muhammad Shahidullah who says that Sinhala Prakrit branched off from

969-412: Is one of the official and national languages of Sri Lanka, alongside Tamil . Along with Pali , it played a major role in the development of Theravada Buddhist literature. Early forms of the Sinhala language are attested as early as the 3rd century BCE. The language of these inscriptions, still retaining long vowels and aspirated consonants, is a Prakrit similar to Magadhi , a regional associate of

1026-708: The American Civil War of 1861–65, when it was a highly popular port for blockade-runners serving the Confederate States of America ; and during Prohibition , when it was a smuggling centre for distilled spirits. By the late 19th century, New Providence had begun billing itself as the " sanitarium of the western hemisphere". Testimonials by residents and visitors emphasized its extremely mild climate with minimal daily temperature fluctuations (often as little as 3 °C (5 °F) in any given 12-hour period) and warm winters (a typical winter morning in

1083-604: The Cadex 2009 military training exercises with the Indian Navy after the war. Samudura , in her post-conflict operations, continues to serve the nation with policing and law enforcement duties in the maritime jurisdiction of the country. Apart from her traditional role the ship successfully completed a scientific study programme in liaison with the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau of Sri Lanka in conjunction with

1140-473: The Dominican Republic to name a few. Patrols are usually followed by a six-week maintenance period in homeport. Our primary missions are law enforcement, migrant interdiction, and search and rescue. On 8 September 2001, a Good Samaritan located a raft 25 miles south of Alligator Key , FL. USCGC Chincoteague (WPB-1320) arrived on scene and embarked nine Cuban migrants. The raft was destroyed as

1197-580: The Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea . One of her commanding officers described her duties as follows: Courageous is a 210-foot Medium Endurance cutter with a crew of 63 enlisted, 12 officers, and a four-person aviation detachment when we have a helicopter embarked. Our patrol schedule generally takes us on six-week patrols throughout the Caribbean and Florida Straits with port calls in places like San Juan, St. Thomas , Jamaica , Grand Cayman , Key West, and

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1254-729: The Middle Indian Prakrits that had been used during the time of the Buddha . The most closely related languages are the Vedda language (an endangered, indigenous creole still spoken by a minority of Sri Lankans, mixing Sinhala with an isolate of unknown origin and from which Old Sinhala borrowed various aspects into its main Indo-Aryan substrate), and the Maldivian language . It has two main varieties, written and spoken, and

1311-587: The UNESCO National Commission of Ceylon According to Wilhelm Geiger , Sinhala has features that set it apart from other Indo-Aryan languages. Some of the differences can be explained by the substrate influence of the parent stock of the Vedda language . Sinhala has many words that are only found in Sinhala, or shared between Sinhala and Vedda and not etymologically derivable from Middle or Old Indo-Aryan. Possible examples include kola for leaf in Sinhala and Vedda (although others suggest

1368-680: The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution of the USA. The ship celebrated her 7th anniversary in Trincomalee on 21 April 2012 with the participation of families of all her serving crew. The ship performed a major role in protecting the Sri Lankan waters from poaching in the northern waters by enforcing a strict vigil on the preservation of the marine environment and supporting sustainable fish-harvesting. At present

1425-464: The 13th century CE, recognised a category of words that exclusively belonged to early Sinhala. The grammar lists naram̆ba (to see) and koḷom̆ba (fort or harbour) as belonging to an indigenous source. Koḷom̆ba is the source of the name of the commercial capital Colombo . The consistent left branching syntax and the loss of aspirated stops in Sinhala is attributed to a probable South Dravidian substratum effect. This has been explained by

1482-457: The 400–500 law-abiding inhabitants; pirate Thomas Barrow even declared himself "Governor of New Providence". In 1718, Governor Woodes Rogers (sent by King George I of Great Britain ) came in and offered a pardon for any pirate willing to give up their ways. Using his intelligence and threatening to execute them if they did not take the pardon, Rogers was eventually able to rid Nassau of pirates. In February 1776, American Esek Hopkins led

1539-619: The American Ship Building Company and launched on 18 March 1967. She was delivered to the Coast Guard and commissioned on 19 April 1968. She was initially homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico , and served there through 1972, conducting search and rescue and law enforcement patrols. On 10 September 1968, she towed the disabled sailboat Ibex 20 miles north of Bimini to Miami . On 6 October 1968 she medevaced

1596-716: The Eastern Prakrits prior to this change. He cites the edicts of Ashoka , no copy of which shows this sound change. An example of an Eastern feature is the ending -e for masculine nominative singular (instead of Western -o ) in Sinhalese Prakrit. There are several cases of vocabulary doublets , one example being the words mæssā ("fly") and mækkā ("flea"), which both correspond to Sanskrit makṣikā but stem from two regionally different Prakrit words macchiā (Western Prakrits) and makkhikā (as in Eastern Prakrits like Pali ). In 1815,

1653-541: The F/V Black Stallion , 330 miles northwest of Puerto Rico , carrying 10 tons of marijuana. In March 1987, she was decommissioned and entered Colonna's Shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia for her Major Maintenance Availability process (MMA). She received the following modifications and upgrades: improved habitability, improved stability by rearranging tank locations, replacement of all asbestos paneling, increased

1710-502: The berthing space, upgraded the flight deck and helicopter equipment, increased the amount of helicopter fuel carried, improved the evaporator, increased and upgraded the communications and electronics capacities, installed vertical exhaust stacks and associated ballast, and installed a smoke detection system and new fire-fighting equipment. Courageous was returned to the Coast Guard on 5 March 1990 in Portsmouth, Virginia . The cutter

1767-736: The blazing tanker in tow and took her out of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands . The cutter and crew were awarded the Coast Guard Unit Commendation "for exceptionally meritorious service during the period 29 April to 2 May 1969" for this action. From 11 to 28 July, Courageous participated in BOMAX (Barbados Oceanographic and Meteorological Experiment), hosting Coast Guard cadets and scientists. The crew assisted scientists with assembling and launching devices for measuring ocean currents and temperatures. An article on this assignment

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1824-681: The chronicle Mahāvaṃsa , written in Pali, Prince Vijaya of the Vanga Kingdom and his entourage merged in Sri Lanka with later settlers from the Pandya kingdom . In the following centuries, there was substantial immigration from Eastern India, including additional migration from the Vanga Kingdom (Bengal), as well as Kalinga and Magadha . This influx led to an admixture of features of Eastern Prakrits. The development of Sinhala

1881-541: The crew underwent an intense period of classroom training and practical underway exercises to hone their navigation, damage control, first aid, and seamanship skills. She was decommissioned on 19 September 2001. The United States Coast Guard donated Courageous to Sri Lanka on 24 June 2004 and a departure ceremony was held 19 February 2005. [1] She is currently serving the Sri Lankan Navy as P621 SLNS Samudura . The name means "sea" in Sinhalese . Samudura

1938-470: The early 19th century The Bahamas had become a nearly vacant archipelago . Salt raking continued here and there, wreck gleaning was profitable in Grand Bahama , but New Providence was the only island with any prosperity because of the large British military establishment. The fortresses began to crumble and were abandoned by 1850. New Providence afterwards had two periods of high economic success: during

1995-462: The features that may be traced to Dravidian influence are: ඒක ēka it අලුත් aḷut new කියලා kiyalā having-said මම mama I දන්නවා dannavā know ඒක අලුත් කියලා මම දන්නවා ēka aḷut kiyalā mama dannavā it new having-said I know "I know that it is new." ඒක ēka it අලුත් aḷut new ද da Q කියලා kiyalā having-said මම mama I දන්නේ New Providence The island

2052-660: The four million-plus tourists who visit The Bahamas annually. New Providence is the only part of The Bahamas that lacks local government . Local affairs are handled by the national government, but the island is divided into 24 supervisory districts . Other settlements on New Providence include Grants Town, Bain Town, Fox Hill, Adelaide, Yamacraw, South Beach, Coral Harbour, Lyford Cay , Paradise Island , Sea Breeze, Centreville, The Grove (South) and The Grove (West Bay), Cable Beach , Delaporte, Gambier, Old Fort Bay , Carmichael Road, and Love Beach. The Indigenous Lucayan people called

2109-530: The governor of Jamaica, but they ignored this order. In 1695, Governor Nicolas Trott rebuilt the town and added a fort, both were called Nassau. However, the fort was heavily damaged in a Spanish attack in 1700 and the colonists eventually abandoned the fort in 1703 after a French and Spanish attack. Due to the lack of cannon and soldiers in the fort, New Providence soon became a home base for pirates . By 1713, there were over 1000 pirates in Nassau and they outnumbered

2166-555: The island Nema , meaning "middle-water". The name New Providence Island is derived from a 16th‐century governor who gave thanks to Divine Providence for his survival after a shipwreck . The "New" was added later to distinguish it from Providencia in Western Caribbean (now Colombia ) used by pirates . After 1670, Bermudian salt rakers gathering sea salt in Grand Turk and Inagua became regular visitors to

2223-607: The island of Ceylon came under British rule . During the career of Christopher Reynolds as a Sinhalese lecturer at the School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London , he extensively researched the Sinhalese language and its pre-1815 literature. The Sri Lankan government awarded him the Sri Lanka Ranjana medal for his work. He wrote the 377-page An anthology of Sinhalese literature up to 1815 , selected by

2280-528: The island. The first lasting European settlement was on Eleuthera in 1648, and then New Providence in 1666. By 1670, there were over 900 people on the settlement of Charles-Town. Due to ineffective governors, Charles-Town was attacked by the French and Spanish navies, became a home base for pirates, and was eventually destroyed by a Spanish attack in 1684. However, two years later in 1686, new English colonists from Jamaica came and settled. They were called back by

2337-497: The most successful Lord Proprietor , in honour of the Prince of Orange-Nassau who became William III of England . The three branches of Bahamian Government : the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary, are all headquartered on New Providence. New Providence functions as the main commercial hub of The Bahamas. It is also home to more than 400 banks and trust companies, and its hotels and port account for more than two-thirds of

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2394-592: The much desired gunpowder was evacuated before capture. Hopkins spent two weeks loading his ships with the booty before finally returning home. The frigate South Carolina , of the South Carolina Navy , arrived at Havana on 12 January 1782. At Havana, after negotiations between Alexander Gillon and the Spanish, the South Carolina joined a force of 59 vessels carrying Spanish forces under

2451-439: The nine migrants were returned to Cuba by cutter Key Largo . On 3 September, a good Samaritan spotted two Cuban migrants on a raft, 30 miles south of Key West, FL. Cutter Padre embarked the migrants for further transfer to cutter Courageous for INS interviews. On 9 September, the two Cuban migrants were returned to Cuba by cutter Key Largo . Additionally, on 3 September, cutter Courageous intercepted two Cuban migrants on

2508-709: The overall command of Bernardo de Galvez . On 22 April the expedition sailed to capture New Providence. By May 6 the whole fleet had reached New Providence and on 8 May the British colony surrendered. This was the third capture of New Providence by a foreign force during the American Revolutionary War. After the American Revolution , several thousand Loyalists and their slaves emigrated to New Providence and nearby islands, hoping to re-establish plantation agriculture. The shallow soils and sparse rainfall doomed this activity to failure, and by

2565-459: The passing 580-foot Panamanian freighter Chios Dream . Courageous embarked a medical technician on the merchant vessel in heavy seas to perform emergency medical care; after the evacuation of the most critical survivor by helicopter, the remaining survivors were transferred ashore for medical treatment in Key West. The final two weeks of the deployment were spent at Naval Station, Mayport where

2622-642: The raft, 39 miles southeast of Marathon, FL. All 28 Cuban migrants were taken aboard cutter Courageous where INS interviews were conducted. The raft was destroyed as a hazard to navigation. On 9 September cutter Key Largo returned all 28 migrants to Cuba. On 5 September, cutter Courageous located a raft with six Cuban migrants, 10 miles north of Cay Sal Bank, Bahamas. On 7 September, the migrants were transferred to cutter Manitou and later transferred to Bahamian authorities in Freeport, Bahamas . On 5 September, cutter Courageous intercepted 19 Cuban migrants on

2679-512: The range of 21 to 23 °C (70 to 74 °F), excellent drainage, ample variety and number of Christian (Protestant) churches, well-tended and rectilinear roads, modern luxurious facilities, and native English speakers. Steam ships plied between the coastal southern United States, Cuba, and Nassau, and the popularity of the destination proceeded to grow. By the late 1920s, New Providence had become well-established especially as an American vacation destination with many tourist facilities, including

2736-634: The ship is attached to the Southern Naval Area to secure maritime interests in the Sri Lankan maritime jurisdiction. Her primary duties are to ensure the main Sea Lane of Communication (SLOC) that runs through the Sri Lankan maritime jurisdiction is safe for seafaring and policing the EEZ . The ship has intercepted several boat loads of illegal immigrants heading to Australia in violation of the country's immigration and emigration laws. In May 2020, it

2793-426: The ship's medical technicians quickly stabilized the most critical migrants. After subsequent INS interviews, the migrants were repatriated to Cuba one week later. In addition to the migrant interdiction missions, Courageous was also the on-scene commander during the Coast Guard's search and rescue mission for a downed Cuban aircraft on September 19 and 20. The nine survivors, including three children, were rescued by

2850-586: The waters between Key West and Cuba, and was primarily involved with the interdiction and repatriation of Cuban migrants in the Straits of Florida. Courageous intercepted 58 Cuban migrants on the high seas, and was responsible for the care and feeding of 94 additional migrants from other Coast Guard units. Courageous also rescued 3 Cubans who were stranded on Cay Sal Island , a small, deserted island 110 miles south of Miami. Courageous experienced her most challenging migrant mission on September 5, when she stopped

2907-409: The yacht White Cloud near Cuban waters and arrested two for aiding draft evaders. On 23 December 1971 RCC Miami notified Courageous to undertake a rescue of the 26-foot S/V Ian's Cradle with 4 persons on board, during a severe gale, east of Fort Pierce . The sailing vessel and her crew had attempted to sail to Bimini in other than optimum weather conditions. By the time the request for assistance

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2964-675: Was broadcast, Ian's Cradle had been dismasted and had lost one person overboard and the remaining three, including an infant, were in mortal danger. The Courageous got underway and located the sailing vessel and after much trouble managed to secure a towline. Due to the worsening of the sea conditions, a helo was requested out of St. Petersburg , and the three survivors on Ian's Cradle were lifted off their vessel to safety. The Ian's Cradle sank ten minutes later. During this rescue, Courageous lost all of her helicopter nets, her long antenna, and sustained other damage.** She changed homeports in late 1971 to Cape Canaveral . Courageous sustained

3021-877: Was deployed in the eastern Indian Ocean for search and rescue operations, following the tropical cyclone Amfan. The commanding officer of the USCGC Courageous in 1991 was Capt. Bohner. The following commanding officer was LTJG Santimanzano. The first Sri Lankan captain of the vessel was Captain Sirimevan Ranasinghe WWV RWP . Subsequently, the ship has been commanded by: Sinhala language Sinhala ( / ˈ s ɪ n h ə l ə , ˈ s ɪ ŋ ə l ə / SIN -hə-lə, SING -ə-lə ; Sinhala: සිංහල , siṁhala , [ˈsiŋɦələ] ), sometimes called Sinhalese ( / ˌ s ɪ n ( h ) ə ˈ l iː z , ˌ s ɪ ŋ ( ɡ ) ə ˈ l iː z / SIN -(h)ə- LEEZ , SING -(g)ə- LEEZ ),

3078-465: Was originally under Spanish control following Christopher Columbus 's purported discovery of the New World , but the Spanish government showed little interest in developing the island (and The Bahamas as a whole). Nassau, the island's largest city, was formerly known as Charles-town, but it was burned to the ground by the Spanish in 1684. It was laid out and renamed Nassau in 1695 by Nicholas Trott ,

3135-609: Was published in the August 1969 issue of Popular Science . On 7 August 1969, stood by the M/V Pionyr following its grounding until a commercial tug arrived on scene. On the 30th, Courageous assisted in a medevac from a sailboat 320 miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico. On 12 October 1970 the cutter once again assisted in a medevac and then towed the F/V Janice Elaine to Miami. On 1 August 1971 Courageous seized

3192-487: Was tasked with deep sea patrolling both within the Sri Lankan territorial waters and in international waters to curb arms smuggling by the LTTE . Samudura , along with other Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) of the Sri Lankan Navy , was able to successfully intercept several ships smuggling arms for the LTTE . In all these cases the ships were sunk when they attacked the naval vessels with mortars . Samudura also participated in

3249-553: Was then placed in commission "special status." Following an extensive onload of needed supplies, the crew completed a five-month engine overhaul in Portsmouth. During subsequent engine trials, a shaft alignment problem was discovered by the crew. A five-month drydocking at the Coast Guard Yard for shaft repairs was required. In addition to shaft repairs, a new steering motor was installed, both anchors were replaced, and

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