HMS Trincomalee

Named Trincomalee, after an action in 1782
between the British Royal Navy and French Navy off the Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, port of that name

HMS Trincomalee is a 1053 ton, 150 foot, sail propelled, Royal Navy Leda class frigate, that was built out of teak, due to oak shortages in Britain, in Bombay (Mumbai) between her order in 1812 and her launch in 1817 shortly following the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

HMS Trincomalee was restored to her original appearance and following her recent restoration the Trincomalee has become the centrepiece of an historic dockyard museum in Hartlepool, United Kingdom, known as 'Hartlepool's Maritime Experience'

The Trincomalee had a ships complement of around 280 and was armed with twenty-eight 18 pounder guns, ten 9 pounder guns and eight carronades, although not the oldest warship in Britain, that honour goes to HMS Victory, she is the oldest British warship afloat as Victory is dry docked. Trincomalee is one of two surviving frigates of this era, in service until 1991 when she was restored and renamed back from the Foudroyant to Trincomalee.

We are researching whether HMS Trincomalee actually visited the Sri Lankan port of Trincomalee or took part in the naval action in 1782 against the French navy.

We apologise for the repetition of some place or proper names with different spellings, but there is no definitive spelling translation of these words.

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The conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, commonly known as “the Tamil Tigers”) ended in May 2009. Although the conflict is over, the LTTE are believed to retain some capability to mount terrorist attacks such as grenade or explosive device attacks and shootings. The Government has relaxed the State of Emergency, under which it has extensive anti-terrorism powers but there are still heightened levels of security (e.g. checkpoints, road blocks) throughout the country. You should exercise a high level of vigilance. The risk for the most part is one of being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. In order to minimise this, you should avoid military, government and paramilitary locations. Always carry formal photographic identification with you. Stop and show your ID when asked to do so. If you are detained, you should ask the authorities to contact the British High Commission.

Fatal attacks linked to the LTTE occurred throughout the country into 2009. Most attacks have been directed against Government and military targets though a number have been focussed on civilian targets such as crowded public places, public transport and market areas. Some of the most significant attacks included a suicide bomb at a political gathering in March 2009 and an air raid on military targets in Colombo in February 2009.

JeGraNet.com statement - 15 October 2008 - Quote from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: "There is a high threat from terrorism in Sri Lanka. Fatal attacks have become more frequent. They have occurred in Colombo and throughout Sri Lanka, including places frequented by expatriate and foreign travellers. Further attacks may occur at any time. There is an increasing risk of British nationals being caught up in an attack". As independent travellers we left Colombo after just 9 days into our planned 6 month stay as a result of a feeling of insecurity, however we are sure that 'package tour' travellers to tourist resorts will probably enjoy a worry free holiday.