The National Hydrographic Bill to be presented in Parliament to earn revenue from sale of maps

Hydrographic maps mark out a safe passage for vessels entering a particular country’s waters and makes them aware of potentially hazardous locations in these waters. Each vessel entering a country’s waters is required to obtain such maps

A new bill which will pave the way for Sri Lanka to earn at least Rs.1 billion a year from the sale of hydrographic maps to ships entering Sri Lankan waters is to be presented to Parliament next month.

The National Hydrographic Bill that will be presented to Parliament in May will set up a National Hydrographic Bureau that will oversee the sale of the maps to ships sailing in Sri Lankan waters and docking at the country’s harbours.

Hydrographic maps mark out a safe passage for vessels entering a particular country’s waters and makes them aware of potentially hazardous locations in these waters. Each vessel entering a country’s waters is required to obtain such maps. In Sri Lanka however, the hydrographic maps on the country’s waters are sold by a UK based company.

More than 350 ships sail through Sri Lankan waters each day while more ships dock at the country’s harbours, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said. Every one of these ships must purchase at least 20 hydrographic maps to traverse through Sri Lankan waters. USD 20 is charged for every map, which means each ship must pay a minimum of USD 400 to pass through Sri Lankan waters.

Given that it is a UK based company that is currently selling these maps based on data collected from hydrographic surveys. Minister Rajapakshe said he conveyed this to President Ranil Wickremesinghe and emphasised the importance of paving the way for the government to obtain these funds that were now flowing overseas.

A Cabinet sub-committee was appointed under Minister Rajapakshe to implement this effort. The sub-committee has now given that task of compiling the hydrographic maps to the Sri Lanka Navy. Once the new bill is passed and the National Hydrographic Bureau is established, the office bureau will then be given powers to sell the maps and obtain the revenue for Sri Lanka. Minister Rajapakshe estimated that the sale of the maps will bring in at least Rs. 1 billion annually.