Sri Lanka takes over the Chairmanship of North Indian Ocean Hydrographic Commission

Sri Lanka took over the Chairmanship of North Indian Ocean Hydrographic Commission (NIOHC) during the recently concluded its annual meeting held in Muscat Oman.

Accordingly, Chief Hydrographer of the Navy Rear Admiral Sisira Jayakody took over the helm from Rear Admiral Tim Lowe the Hydrographer of the United Kingdom and will steer NIOHC for the coming year.  It is for the first time since its formation in 2002, Sri Lanka was considered for this position and it is expected that to host the next meeting in Colombo under his chairmanship in 2020.

Rear Admiral Jayakody was unanimously elected as the vice chairman of the Commission last year in recognition of his contribution to develop hydrography in the region, particularly in Sri Lanka.

The NIOHC is the regional arm of the International Hydrographic Organization and comprised of 11 member states including Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom and 06 Associate member states namely Australia, France, Oman, Mauritius, Seychelles and USA.

The Commission provides regional platform to discuss hydrographic affairs, oceanography and nautical charting activities among its member states.