History was made on Monday at Verem in north Goa when INSV Tarini was received at the INS Mandovi jetty by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Led by Skipper Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi, INSV Tarini became the first Indian vessel with an all-women crew to successfully circumnavigate the world.
The expedition, named Navika Sagar Parikrama, had been flagged off by Ms. Sitharaman on September 10 last year. The team of six women sailed for 254 days and covered 22,000 nautical miles.
Besides Ms. Joshi, the crew comprised Lieutenant Commanders Pratibha Jamwal and P. Swathi and Lieutenants S. Vijaya Devi, B. Aishwarya and Payal Gupta.
In the course of its voyage, the indigenously built vessel, which was inducted in the Navy in February 2017, met all the criteria of circumnavigation, including crossing the equator twice, crossing all the longitudes and touching the three great capes (Cape Leeuwin, Cape Horn and Cape of Good Hope). The journey had six legs, with halts at five ports: Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands), Cape Town (South Africa) and Port Louis (Mauritius).
The vessel ran into rough seas on numerous occasions, with wind speed in excess of 60 knots and waves up to 7 metres high at some places in the Pacific Ocean.
Snag in steering gear
The women faced their toughest test when the vessel developed a snag in the steering gear just 2,000 miles off Goa, according to Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba. “They not only carried out temporary repairs... but also sailed the boat to the nearest port, Port Louis in Mauritius, 180 miles away. The grit and determination displayed by the young women officers will definitely encourage future generations,” he said at a reception in honour of the voyagers.
