Nahil Wijesuriya gifts building to marine professionals in memory of his mother

Society of Chief Engineers Marine (SOCEM) and The Institute of Marine Engineers Science and Technology (IMarEST), now have a permanent home, after drifting to various locations that served as offices for the past 50 years.

On 20 December, amidst a distinguished gathering of professionals and friends (sans politicians), the aforesaid professional organisations were gifted by the Agnes Wijesuriya Charitable Fund or (AWCF), a modern, five-storeyed building at Kollupitiya. It was appropriately named Marine House.

The late Agnes Wijesuriya was a schoolteacher at St. Scholasticas and Pushpadana Girls School in Kandy, who passed away on 23 March 1970. At one time, her best student’s name was Nahil and that’s how her second child out of three came to have this unique and unusual name. 

Her daughters Dr. Pathma Maheshwari De Silva and Dr. Srikanthi Karalliedde are both trustees of the Agnes Wijesuriya Charitable Fund. The fund also intends to support other deserving causes and projects that will be determined as suitable by the AWCF committee.

The office of the Society of Chief Engineers Marine (SOCEM) was initially situated in a very inaccessible, nondescript rented building in Kotahena, Crow Island. Stepping up to it, Nahil offered office space in the IBM Building at Nawam Mawatha rent free to SOCEM and the ImarEST. They occupied 612 Sqft of this area from 1 January 2001 to 15 June 2005. Regrettably, as there was no rental agreement when the IBM building was sold, the new owners tossed them out.

Following this, the two institutions did not have a permanent address. Their addresses were the home addresses of the secretaries at any particular time. The address changed each time the secretaries changed. Nahil arranged for the Agnes Wijesuriya Charitable Fund to donate the building at No. 594/1 Galle Road, Colombo 3 to the two marine institutions, valued at over Rs. 250 million.

Nahil’s involvement in the marine industry began with him undergoing a Marine Engineering Apprenticeship at Walker Sons & Co Ltd., from 1964 to 1967. He obtained a HND in Mechanical and Production Engineering in 1970, from the Leicester College of Technology United Kingdom. He sailed as a Marine Engineer in the ships of P&O Lines of the UK and the Ceylon Shipping Corporation (CSC). He was later the Technical Manager of the CSC and thereafter the Deputy Chief Engineer of the Colombo Dock Yard. Subsequently, he co-founded East West Enterprises Ltd., in 1977 with another Seafarer, Captain Lester Weinman.

The East West Group’s historical marine activities comprised of many unique enterprises:

nThe first off port container yard (1980) started by East West Containers Ltd., headed by Captain Ryle Mendis.

nOffshore bunkering with a DWT 37,000 ton tanker. MT Bunker One, the largest ship owned by a Sri Lankan and with delivery tankers MT Ranweli and MT Randiya headed by Capt. Ranjith Weerasinghe.

nShip salvage and towage with Offshore Marine Services Ltd., using tugs MT Nilgiri and MT Sigiri and supply crafts OMS1 and OMS2 headed by Salvage Master Capt. Edward Perera.  

nAcquisition of Sri Lanka Shipping Ltd. from Freudenberg Ltd. This company (formed in 1946) was the first company to own ships in Ceylon. Freudenberg Ltd. owned the cargo ship MV Maha Nuwara.

nNahil’s ‘non-marine’ business covered 24-hour television on two channels ETV 1 and ETV 2, that was sold to Swarnamahal Group which renamed one channel as Swarnawahini and the other remained as ETV. Incidentally, the name ETV is a derivative from the company Extra Terrestrial Vision Ltd., which was rebroadcasting satellite TV signals from Star TV, and not Edirisinghe Television, as is assumed by many.

nThe People’s Media Network broadcasts TV and radio for the Buddhist Channel.

nPurchase of the Ceylon Continental Hotel from Uma Kumar Sharma during the 30-year civil war in Sri Lanka. Subsequently, it was sold to the Hayleys Group. It was renamed The Kingsbury.

nConstructed and owns the 200-room Marriott Resort Weligama Bay, management of which was handed over to Marriott International. 

Speaking at the opening of Marine House during his latest act of stepping up to a situation, Nahil was quoted as saying: “Whatever I have achieved, I owe it to my parents Gracian and Agnes Wijesuriya, my school – Trinity College Kandy (TCK) and the institutions of the marine engineering industry.

The building is dedicated in memory of my mother Agnes Wijesuriya through the Agnes Wijesuriya Charitable Fund.

“I also recall that 25 years back my old School TCK lost the Club House at Asgiriya due to the expansion of the cricket grounds to accommodate test matches. This was planned and executed by another old Trinitian – the late Gamini Dissanayaka. Stepping up to the situation, my father, the late Gracian Wijesuriya, a civil engineer, and I built what is now called the Old Trinitians Sports Club. This was designed pro bono by old Trinitian and Architect Susil Wedikkara.

“I remember Trinity getting thrashed in cricket in the late 1970s, (I played for college in the early 1960s) and there was an urgent need for a suitable coach and the college could not afford one at the time. Stepping up to it, I kick-started a fund to employ a suitable coach by contributing Rs. 150,000, when all my assets at the time were only around Rs. 300,000. Even then, TCK was not doing well at cricket and the reason given was that they did not have fast bowlers to practice against. Hence, the coaches asked me for a bowling machine. Stepping up to it, I immediately shipped a top-of-the-line John Edrich bowling machine from the UK to Kandy. This was the first bowling machine in Sri Lanka.”

Speaking at the same event, Society of Chief Engineers President Marine Eng. Saman Athula Kumarasinghe stated: “Nahil donated this Marine House building for the benefit of the marine engineering fraternity in Sri Lanka. Briefly, by the early 1990s there were at least 70 overseas-qualified marine chief engineers who were employed on-board merchant ships owned by international companies worldwide and the Ceylon Shipping Corporation. Some of these engineers were also employed on shore-based establishments such as Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Colombo Dockyard Ltd., Walker & Sons, Ceyline Engineering and many others. It was the enthusiasm of those marine chief engineers in shore-based positions that paved the way to establishing the Society of Chief Engineers Marine in 1993. 

“Today, the Society of Chief Engineers Marine (SOCEM) provides the base for all Sri Lankan marine chief engineers to encompass into a coherent unit and provide an opportunity to meet and share their knowledge and experience with each other. We have nearly 270 marine chief engineers as life members of the society. Eng. Nahil Wijesuriya is also a life member of our society and a fellow member of the Institute of Marine Engineering Science and Technology, UK.

“Nahil wanted to do something noteworthy and special in memory of his mother Agnes Wijesuriya for the marine engineering fraternity in Sri Lanka and decided to gift his own property now known as Marine House. This is certainly a dream come true for us to have an office of our own in a prime location in the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. We now feel that we have a solid foundation to develop the professional status of marine engineers in our island and to assertively contribute to the economy of Sri Lanka in a more significant manner.”

Also speaking at the event, IMarEST Sri Lanka branch Chairman Eng. Capt. Nalaka Gunasinghe said: “Nahil Wijesuriya, who is also a Fellow Member, donated the Marine House building for the benefit of the marine engineering fraternity that includes the Sri Lanka Branch of the Institute of Marine Engineering Science and Technology or IMarEST as well. This is a professional body and branch of the Institute of Marine Engineering Science and Technology of United Kingdom which is an affiliated body to the Engineering Council of UK and to the Society of Chief Engineers.  IMarEST commenced in 1889 in the United Kingdom and the Sri Lanka Branch of the Institution of Marine Engineers (which it was then called) was established in 1964 with 12 members who went on to become very prominent in the marine engineering field. The inaugural meeting was held at the Navy Officers Mess at Flag Staff Street, Colombo. Subsequently, the number of marine engineers in Sri Lanka increased with the inauguration of the Ceylon Shipping Corporation in 1971. A significant number of naval officers were amongst the membership. 

“We at the IMarEST Sri Lanka Branch celebrated our golden jubilee in 2014. Some of our activities include assisting related training institutions in organising courses and providing lecturers. We also conduct lectures and seminars whilst undertaking field visits in a routine manner. Presently, there are a total of 170 members made up of 30 Fellow members, 75 Ordinary members, six Associate members and 59 Student members. 

“A permanent address was a long-felt need. We had enormous difficulties when mailing and corresponding, for banking purposes and a place to keep souvenirs, records and documents and to display pictures of historical value.  All meetings and gatherings took place at various locations. There was no place for us to entertain and meet even when a foreign delegate or important person came to visit us. Now, thanks to Nahil and the Agnes Wijesuriya Charitable Fund, we are proud to have a dedicated place to conduct meetings with members, inaugurate our library, conduct career development programs, interviews and also conduct joint activities with the Society of Chief Engineers.”

Marine House has now cast anchor and become a permanent landmark in Colombo’s skyline. It will soon house a purpose built digital technical library, an auditorium and a conference hall in addition to the SOCEM and IMarEST offices. Both institutes will be housed on the top floor. The rent derived from the other four floors and the rooftop that houses cellular towers will be used to fund the proposed scholarships to deserving marine engineering students. 

Plans are also underway to provide technical seminars and training sessions to students on professional subject matters. A think tank will also be formed from the pool of qualified and experienced marine engineers in the membership, through which advisory and consultancy services will be made available.