On 1 August of the following year, the cabinet approved a paper appointing a retired Naval officer, Lieutenant commander C. R. Bulegoda Arachchi, as head of the Coast Guard.

The government then began drafting the Sri Lanka Coast Guard Act based on counterparts from other nations in the region.

Six small vessels for the SLCG were launched at the fishery harbour in Beruwala: Coast Guard Vessel Mahiraja was put in charge of search and rescue, CGVs Ruhunu and Maya were assigned to the protection of coastal fisheries, and CGVs Kadira, Giruvaya and Maagama were placed on general duty.

Recent developments have largely been centered on expansion of operational capabilities, with Japan forming a partnership with the SLCG in 2016 to secure trade routes in the Indian Ocean, particularly those used by oil tankers from the Middle East.

[5][6] The Sri Lankan Government also placed a $180 million order for three 85-meter offshore patrol vessels from Colombo Dockyard in 2017, capable of both deep- and shallow water operations.