An all-women team of the Indian Navy, who set out to circumnavigate the globe in September 2017, are braving a storm over the Pacific Ocean. The storm struck as the crew was enroute the Falkland Islands, reports ANI.
The team, on board the INSV Tarini, set sail from Goa in 2017, as part of the ‘Navika Sagar Parikrama’ project – which is considered to be the first attempt made by an all-women crew to circumnavigate the planet. The crew is scheduled to complete the expedition in five legs, with stopovers at four different ports of Fremantle, Australia; Lyttleton, New Zealand; Port Stanley, the Falklands; and Cape town, South Africa, reports The Hindu.
According to the visuals that have been shared by the Indian Navy and reshared by ANI, the women crew are seen mastering their way through an intensified storm.
Their expedition drew praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in 2017.
Sitharaman had personally visited the crew, that is being led by Lt Commander Vartika Joshi, before they set sail. The crew comprises Lt Commanders Pratibha Jamwal and P Swathi and Lieutenants S Vijaya Devi, B Aishwarya and Payal Gupta, reports The Hindu.
This is not an occasion which can happen once in five years, once in 10 years. This is a historic day for India. A historic day, which will be marked in navigation history and globally. Our women are going to stand out for doing something which mostly wouldn’t even have been thought of.Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at the time, as reported by The Hindu
Sitharaman added that her ministry would be more than happy to provide support and encourage women to take up important roles in the Defence industry of India.
As of December 2017, PTI reported that the crew had left New Zealand, where the INSV Tarini had arrived on 29 November, to set sail for the next leg of their expedition – the Falkland Islands
The report added that the crew had been officially welcomed to Lyttelton, New Zealand by Andrew Turner, Deputy Mayor of Christchurch and several other important members of the community, upon their arrival.
The crew is expected to return to Goa by April 2018.
(With inputs from ANI, The Hindu and Hindustan Times)
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