By: Staff Writer
March 18, Colombo (LNW): The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) has taken an important step in promoting the growth of the country’s boat building and boating industry by creating a comprehensive regulatory framework. This initiative is designed to enhance the sector’s potential and improve its international competitiveness.
The boat and shipbuilding sector has grown rapidly, emerging as a multi-million dollar industry that offers great promise for economic growth. With Sri Lanka’s ability to construct and operate yachts for chartering and nautical activities, there is significant potential to bolster the country’s nautical tourism industry.
By attracting foreign yachts and visitors, Sri Lanka can offer unique experiences like whale and dolphin watching, scuba diving, leisure fishing, and water sports, making it an ideal year-round tourist destination.
To ensure effective collaboration and understanding of these changes, the EDB organized awareness sessions for both public and private stakeholders, focusing on a recent gazette notification related to the new regulatory framework. These sessions aimed to inform and engage the stakeholders in the process, helping them understand the importance of these regulations for the sector’s growth.
For the industry to thrive, a robust regulatory framework covering the entire value chain is crucial. There has been a gap in regulating leisure craft operations and managing the registration of visiting yachts, which has hindered the sector’s development.
In response, the Sri Lankan Government allocated funds to create an effective framework. Working in collaboration with the relevant Ministry and Lloyd’s Register Asia, the EDB facilitated consultations and workshops to gather insights and feedback from public and private sector representatives, ensuring the regulations addressed all necessary aspects.
After completing the consultation process, the Merchant Shipping Secretariat under the Ports and Shipping Ministry took steps to finalize the regulations. These were gazetted under the Merchant Shipping Act, No. 52 of 1971, with the official Gazette issued on 31 December 2024.
To support the implementation of these new regulations, the EDB held awareness sessions for government officials on 25 February and for private sector stakeholders on 11 March.
The introduction of these regulations is a crucial move towards strengthening the boat building and boating industry in Sri Lanka. This effort is expected to significantly contribute to the country’s economic growth and position Sri Lanka as a prominent player in the global maritime industry.
By addressing the sector’s regulatory needs, Sri Lanka is on track to maximize its boat building and boating potential, creating new economic opportunities and enhancing its maritime tourism appeal.
