Boundaries of the Sri Lanka’s continental shelf to be identified

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to call for expressions of intent for the reconstitution of the National Oceanic Affairs Committee with a view to identifying its outer limits with supporting evidence for the establishment of Sri Lanka’s continental shelf.

In 2009, Sri Lanka submitted technical and scientific data and other information to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf for the establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 nautical miles under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The Commission has appointed a subcommission to consider Sri Lanka’s entitlements. The National Ocean Affairs Committee under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been established with the Cabinet approval to work with this sub-committee to identify the limits of the continental shelf claimed by Sri Lanka