Colombo Port Maritime Museum

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority Maritime Museum ,commonly known as the Colombo Maritime Museum, is located at 19 Chaithya Road, Colombo, adjacent to the Colombo Port. The museum is operated and maintained by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.
The museum is housed in a former Dutch prison, built in 1676, which is the only surviving Dutch period building within the Colombo Port area. The building has been refurbished and renovated to accommodate the artifacts at cost of Rs 25 million, as a result of the concept first presented by the Minister of Ports Development, Rehabilitation & Reconstruction, M. H. M. Ashraff. It was officially opened in August 2003, by the Minister of Shipping, Ports Development, Eastern Development and Muslim Religious Affairs, Rauff Hakeem.
Various items of historical significance relating to the ports of the country, its maritime industry and the ocean around Sri Lanka are on display. Sculptures of King Vijeya and other significant characters are also on display along with model exhibits of ships.
There are also art works, and models symbolizing the systematic development of the Colombo Port and equipment used in Port operation during various times.

History Related with the Future
Colombo has been a trading port for over 2,000 years. It is situated on the mouth of the river Kelani. This allowed goods to be moved down river for export and traded imported goods to be moved upstream to inland markets. Historians have found references to the port of Colombo in documents around the world. It was visited regularly by the Romans, Arab, Indian, African and Chinese traders. Marco Polo recorded that he visited the island on behalf of the Chinese Imperial Court. Many of these traders set up warehouses in Colombo.
The first European Colonial power discovered the islands by accident. The Portuguese were blown off course in 1505. They liked what they saw and decided to stay. They were particularly interested in cinnamon which was in demand in Europe and could fetch a high price. They entered into a contract with the Sri Lankan King Kotte Parakramabahu VIII and obtained the trading rights along the whole southern coast line. They built a fort and expelled their competition, the Muslim Arab traders. The Sri Lankan island at that time was not one unified kingdom. There were other kingdoms that took exception to the involvement of the Portuguese. This resulted in armed conflict and a number of sieges.
The Dutch, who coveted the riches of the island, profited by this conflict. In 1656 they promised King Rajasinha II military help with his war against the Portuguese so long as they were awarded the monopoly on all Sri Lankan trade. The Dutch at that stage were not interested in land, unlike the Portuguese. The Dutch won the last battle when the last remaining 93 Portuguese soldiers surrendered the Colombo fort after a long siege. The Dutch gave the newly captured land to the Sinhalese King but in reality they controlled the commercial interests, especially the cinnamon plantations and the port. The Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie VOC) used Colombo as its Maritime capital
The British Navy took control of the Colombo Fort and Port in 1796. The Dutch had been weakened after being conquered by Napoleon. The Dutch leaders had fled to London and as they could no longer control the trade based in Colombo they reluctantly transferred ownership to the British. The Dutch had not been powerful enough to win a war against the central Kingdom of Kandy and thus take ownership of the whole island. The British were strong enough.
The Kingdom of Kandy was offered the chance of being a British protectorate. This was refused. The British only controlled the whole island after they defeated the king of Kandy in 1815.This new colony of the British Empire was called Ceylon. Trade that passed through the port of Colombo increased dramatically. The British introduced more plantations throughout the island for products like coffee, spices, rubber and most importantly Ceylon tea. They even introduced European vegetables to the highland regions.
Sri Lanka obtained its independence in 1948 from the near bankrupt British Government who was recovering from World War Two. Trade has continued to increase in the port, especially after the introduction of containerisation. It is pleasing to see money being put into a museum that with pride tells the story of the Port of Colombo.
The outside of the Maritime Museum is lined with old ships cannon. Some are displayed on their wheeled carriage and others just resting on the wall. Check the top of each cannon to try and find a crest. This is the way to work out if they were Portuguese, Dutch, British or captured French. These cannon are all breach loaded. That means that the cannon shell and the powder case would have been rammed down the front opening of the cannon. If you look closely around the grounds you might see some cannon balls.
A Typical Visitor Narration about the Place

The Place
I’m received by a gaudy reception desk that is fashioned after a ship, with scaffolding behind it as the building seems to be preparing for some renovation. There is no air conditioning and there are no fans inside, so the high ceiling is the only saving grace.
As soon as I entered, I encountered a brass Prince Vijaya, covered in verdigris, next to a model of the ship he is believed to have arrived in. There is a lion painted on the ship, naturally, and a massive recreation of his arrival is painted as a backdrop. I walk along and find the same treatment for Sangamitta, the daughter of Emperor Asoka of India, who arrived in Sri Lanka with the sacred bo sapling; a Chinese monk Ven. Fahien; Ibn Batuta; the Portuguese, the Dutch and, last, but certainly not least, the British. (Note to those with asthma, do not breathe heavily as you will erupt into a sneezing fit. This place is dusty, so hold your breath for as long as you can.)
The next room is quite eerie. Though this exhibit would require the least imagination to represent, it is the most disappointing of the lot. There is a panoramic mural of life along the Sri Lankan coast, with fishermen folk in sarama and their women, which is quite striking. What takes away from it are the life-size statues of these folk, their skin gleaming as they look out into the distance. It’s like Madame Tussaud’s, but without the famous people, the lighting, or any real attempt to really bring this exhibit to life.
On the other side of the room, there is an arrangement of miscellaneous items involved in the maritime trade. These include hooks, lines, lamps, scales and even old telephones. These exhibits are mostly labelled in Sinhala, while the rest of the exhibits have trilingual information accompanying them. The inconsistency is disappointing.
Oh, there’s also a massive model of a deep-sea diver that is actually pretty damn cool. The diver is standing on the table that carries the rest of the paraphernalia, which is a little odd, but the elevation helps this exhibit stand out. There are also some models of modern-day port and harbour machines and vehicles.

Conclusion
As with any museum in Sri Lanka, there are information boards telling tales that range from from elephant-and horse-trading to pottery and ceramics. These are trilingual, thankfully, although we spotted some priceless typos among them, including ‘Ancient Navel Relations Reveded from Social Inscription’, for fans of navel-gazing.
I’d like to see this place lit up, dust-free and with a less tacky reception. It’s worth a visit, but don’t get too excited.