PANJIM: After an eight-month long voyage, the all-women crew of Indian Navy – INSV Tarini – will return to Goa on Monday after its historic circumnavigation of the globe. Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will welcome the six women naval officers.
The expedition named as “Navika Sagar Parikrama” led by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi, is the first Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew.
Covering over 21,600 nautical miles since leaving Goa on September 10 last year, the Indian-built sailing vessel visited five countries, crossed the Equator twice, sailed across four continents and three oceans, and passed south of the three Great Capes – Leeuwin, Horn and Good Hope, say a press statement.
The expedition sailed in six legs, with stopovers at Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands), Cape Town (South Africa) and Mauritius.
The crew included Lt-Commanders Pratibha Jamwal and Swati P, and Lieutenants Aishwarya Boddapati, S Vijaya Devi and Payal Gupta.
