[2] On the dawn of 1 November 2008 at approximately 5.45 am, a battle erupted between the navy and a group of Sea Tiger boats off the coast between Point Pedro and Nagar Kovil, near the northern tip of Sri Lanka.

He was in command of the Arrow-class patrol boat Z-142, which was armed with a 23 mm autocannon and two machine guns, and was part of the navy group engaged in the battle.

However, all three gunners were eventually incapacitated, and Shantha was left unable to attack the enemy boats now approaching the navy's larger vessels.

[8] It was presented to his next-of-kin three days later on 19 May 2012 by Mahinda Rajapaksa, the President of Sri Lanka, at a ceremony held at the celebrations marking the third anniversary of the end of the war.

"[10] Shantha was the second recipient of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya from the navy, after Lieutenant Commander Jude Wijethunge who received it posthumously for similar actions in 1996.