> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.jaffnamonitor.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # U.S. Maritime Chiefs to Visit Sri Lanka as Colombo’s Shipping Role Grows - URL: https://www.jaffnamonitor.com/u-s-maritime-chiefs-to-visit-sri-lanka-as-colombos-shipping-role-grows/ - Published: 2026-09-04T12:34:34.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-04T12:34:34.000Z - Author: Our Reporter - Tags: September 2026 **COLOMBO, Sri Lanka —** Two senior United States maritime regulators will visit Sri Lanka next week for talks on shipping, trade and investment, the U.S. Embassy in Colombo said Friday. Laura DiBella, chairwoman of the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission, and Commissioner Robert J. Harvey are scheduled to be in the country from Sept. 6 to 10. The visit will include meetings with senior Sri Lankan government officials and leaders of the country’s maritime industry, with discussions expected to focus on trade, investment and the shipping networks connecting the United States with markets across the Indo-Pacific. Ms. DiBella will also address the eighth Colombo International Maritime and Logistics Conference, while Mr. Harvey will participate in a panel discussion. The visit comes as Sri Lanka seeks to strengthen Colombo’s position as a regional maritime and logistics center. Sitting close to the main east-west shipping route across the Indian Ocean, Colombo serves less as a final destination for cargo than as a transfer point for containers moving between larger international markets. More than 80 percent of containers handled in Colombo are transshipment cargo destined for other countries, according to the U.S. Embassy. Eric Meyer, the U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka, said that figure illustrated the island’s importance to international shipping. “Over 80 percent of the containers moving through Colombo continue on to destinations around the world,” Mr. Meyer said, calling it “a remarkable illustration of Sri Lanka’s role at the heart of Indian Ocean shipping.” He said the visit offered an opportunity to deepen American cooperation with Sri Lanka’s maritime sector and argued that secure and efficient shipping would benefit businesses and consumers in both countries. The Federal Maritime Commission is an independent U.S. government agency that regulates America’s international ocean transportation system. Established in 1961, it oversees aspects of the relationship between ocean carriers, ports and other maritime businesses, with a mandate that includes protecting American exporters, importers and consumers from unfair or deceptive shipping practices. Ms. DiBella, a Florida business and economic-development official with experience managing ports, joined the commission in January after being nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate. Mr. Trump designated her chairwoman later that month. Before joining the commission, Ms. DiBella served as Florida’s secretary of commerce and as president and chief executive of Enterprise Florida. Her maritime career included serving as port director of the Port of Fernandina and later as executive director of the Florida Harbor Pilots Association. Mr. Harvey, also from Florida, joined the commission in June after his nomination by Mr. Trump and confirmation by the Senate. A lawyer and U.S. Navy veteran, Mr. Harvey previously held senior positions in Florida economic-development organizations and served in the Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps. His maritime interests include freedom of navigation, the right of innocent passage, and emerging technologies involving navigation, cybersecurity, and secure maritime communications. Their visit places Colombo within a broader American focus on the security and resilience of Indo-Pacific maritime trade. Sri Lanka’s location near the sea lanes linking East Asia, the Middle East and Europe has long given its ports an importance extending well beyond the size of the country’s domestic market.