The thoughts and theories regarding the command of the sea were written down during the last century. In the aftermath of WW2, marine strategists were less comfortable about using the phrase command of the sea which now seemed to be too absolutist in tone. This resulted in a new phrase which had a less ambitious tone the phrase control of the sea became more acceptable and even though the main difference is that control of the sea is applicable under a certain time and place, the main thought is still the same.   The question then that should be asked is: are these old theories regarding the battle of the seas still applicable today? The battlefield has certainly changed since then, particularly regarding the development of military technology but also regarding what kind of foe the navies of today meet.   This is the issue that this paper aims to address by studying the civil war in Sri Lanka with focus on what took place between the Sri Lankan navy and the sea tigers of LTTE. The study will be done by using Geoffrey Tills theories about control of the sea as a lens and a means to decipher what occurred during this time.   This study shows that the theory of control of the sea played a part of the Sri Lankan navy’s ability to defeat the sea tigers and by doing so contributed to ending of the almost three century long conflict.