Indian Navy's INSV Tarini crew set to return after 17,000 nautical miles voyage

Indian naval sailing vessel Tarini is on her return journey to India after a seven-month-long transoceanic intercontinental expedition, covering 17,000 nautical miles, officials said on Saturday.

The Indian Navy is all set to receive the six-member crew of INSV Tarini, including women officers Lt Cdr Dilna K and Lt Cdr Roopa A, at the "flag in" ceremony on May 23 at the Indian Naval Watermanship Training Centre (INWTC), INS Mandovi, Goa, they said.

During the expedition, Tarini sailed to Rio de Janerio in Brazil via Cape Town in South Africa, participating in the Cape to Rio Race 2023. She will complete an arduous 17,000-nautical miles passage when she returns to Indian shores.

The "flag in" event will showcase the exemplary valour, courage and perseverance of the crew, the officials said.

"This is a true display of women's power, a clarion call from the government of India to empower women. To applaud the determination and courage of the vessel and crew, this special occasion will be graced by the guest of honour Smriti Irani, Union Minister for Women and Child Development," a senior official said.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will be the chief guest at the event. Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff, and Rani Rampal, ex-captain of the Indian women hockey team, will also be present on the occasion, the officials said.

INSV Tarini is returning home after successfully completing the 17000-nautical miles trans-ocean inter-continental voyage in seven months, the senior official said.

The Indian Navy has embarked on a mission to circumnavigate the globe to promote ocean sailing in a big way. Captain Dilip Donde was the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe in 2009-2010.

Subsequently, Abhilash Tomy, a retired naval officer, was the first Asian skipper to participate in two circumnavigations.

Recently, during the Golden Globe Race (GGR) 2022, an east-bound non-stop circumnavigation race starting and finishing in Les Sables d' Olonne in France, Tomy accomplished the feat of getting a podium finish.

He finished second in the race that bars participants from using modern cutting-edge navigational equipment.

INSV Tarini is also known for circumnavigating the globe with an all-women officer crew in the historic expedition titled 'Navika Sagar Parikrama' that began in 2017.

The current sailing expedition of INSV Tarini is part of the run-up towards the Navy’s next big project to send a woman to circumnavigate the globe solo, the official said.

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