Geophysical survey company Geotechnical Engineering and Marine Surveys (GEMS) of the UK is to conduct the two-month study, costing 5.2 million dollars, media minister Anura Yapa said.
Re-defining the continental boundary will allow Sri Lanka to claim additional rights to the seabed and resources it holds within its new boundary.
The continental shelf is the extension of continents into the ocean. Sri Lanka's continental shelf around the North and North Western coasts is broader than the rest of the island.
Sri Lanka is entitled to claim additional seabed rights under the United Nations convention on the Law of the Sea and needs to collect data to support its claim, N P Wijayananda, Project Director, told LBO in an earlier interview.
Sri Lanka’s continental shelf extends for up to 200 nautical miles within which it can exploit resources in the water, in the seabed and under the seabed.
Once the data is processed and interpreted, t