JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — A boat not designed for passenger transport, but carrying devotees to a Catholic church festival, capsized off the coast of northern Sri Lanka on Thursday morning, killing at least two people and injuring more than a dozen others and renewing concerns about maritime safety in the waters around the Jaffna peninsula.
The vessel had departed from the fishing harbor at Kurunagar in Jaffna, carrying pilgrims to the annual feast of St. Anthony’s Church in Palaitivu, a small island shrine in the Poonakary area of Kilinochchi District that draws large numbers of worshippers each year during the festival season.
Witnesses said the boat had barely cleared the shoreline when it lost stability and overturned, throwing passengers — including children and elderly devotees — into the sea.
Local fishermen and personnel from the Sri Lanka Navy rushed to the scene and rescued several passengers from the water.
Authorities later confirmed that two men had died in the accident.
The victims were identified as Stephen Francis, 57, of Navatkuli, and M. Joseph, 80, of Kurunagar.
Twelve survivors were admitted to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital, where two elderly women — Parameswari Sebastianpillai, 79, from Point Pedro, and Udayakumari, 63, from Urumpirai — remain in critical condition in the intensive care unit, hospital officials said.
Ten others, including a 12-year-old boy, are receiving treatment for injuries in general wards.
Government Orders Inquiry
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Ramalingam Chandrasekar, ordered an urgent investigation, directing officials to determine whether the vessel was seaworthy and whether passenger limits and safety procedures had been followed.
The minister also expressed condolences to the families of the victims and said the government would provide assistance.
A Warning Days Earlier
Residents and regular passengers told Jaffna Monitor that the accident may not be an isolated incident, warning that many boats operating on the Kurikkadduwan–Nainativu route — which serves the ancient Nagapooshani Amman Temple and the historic Nagadeepa Vihara, both of which attract thousands of devotees each year, including many Sinhalese pilgrims — are in poor condition and often not designed to carry large numbers of passengers.
“Most of these boats are in very bad condition. A disaster could happen on this route at any time,” several passengers said.
Incidentally, Jeevan Thiagarajah, the former Governor of the Northern Province, had raised similar concerns weeks before the accident.
In an email sent on February 16 to the current Northern Province Governor, Nagalingam Vethanayagam, Mr. Jeevan Thiagarajah warned that passenger vessels operating between the islands off Jaffna did not meet required safety standards.
“None have the required safety standards and certification,” he wrote, recalling a previous ferry disaster off Trincomalee that claimed several lives.
“A similar situation is waiting to occur in Jaffna,” he cautioned in the message, which was copied to civil society officials.
“A Serious Situation”
In comments to Jaffna Monitor, Mr. Jeevan Thiagarajah said that during his tenure as governor, authorities had discovered serious regulatory failures in passenger vessels operating between the peninsula and surrounding islands.
“As Governor, we found a serious situation where no vessel carrying passengers between islands met the required safety standards,” he said.
“We wanted to prevent a situation like the Trincomalee ferry disaster. All operators and authorities responsible for certification were called in, and written instructions were issued to ensure compliance.”
He added that district authorities had been formally notified.
“Jaffna must insist that passenger transport via water conforms to national safety regulations,” he said.
A Region Dependent on Small Boats
Island communities around the Jaffna peninsula — including Nainativu, Delft, Analaitivu, and other islands — rely heavily on small privately operated boats to transport pilgrims, fishermen, and residents.
Many of these vessels are inexpensive and widely used but often operate with limited safety equipment and weak regulatory oversight, maritime observers say.
“This tragedy has already taken lives, but many boats here continue to operate without proper safety regulations,” several residents and maritime observers told Jaffna Monitor. “If nothing changes, more tragedies are waiting to happen.”
They urged authorities to move beyond expressions of condolence and take concrete regulatory action to ensure that passenger vessels operating in northern waters comply with national maritime safety standards, warning that failure to do so could lead to further disasters.
