A troop carrier cum supply ship of the Sri Lanka Navy was sunk by Sea Tiger naval commandos in the Trincomalee Harbour in the early hours of Saturday May 10.
The underwater attack by Black Tigers was carried out when the supply vessel, A-520, named 'MV Invincible', was loaded with explosives to be transported to KKS Harbour in Jaffna, the LTTE said.
The 80-meter long ship, which had lately been engaged in naval resupply service between KKS and Trincomalee, was sunk within the first 13-minutes of the attack, the Tigers said.
The supply ship and troop carrier had also been deployed in the Sri Lanka Navy's deep sea operations against Tiger vessels in 2007.
The Sri Lanka Navy seized the ship in 2003 when it was reportedly involved in a people-smuggling operations. Operated by a Russian or Georgian crew, it had 250 Pakistanis on board, who had flown legitimately to Colombo, the BBC reported.
Commandos from Kangkai Amaran unit of the Sea Tigers took part in Saturday’s mission, the LTTE also said. The unit was named after a senior commander of the Sea Tigers killed by Sri Lankan Army Deep Penetration Unit on 29 June 2001 in an attack in the Mannaar district.
