All women crew vessel INSV Tarini reaches Australia

Visakhapatnam: The all women crew vessel INSV Tarini entered Fremantle (Australia) Port on Monday as part of its maiden voyage to circumnavigate the globe.

This is the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew including Vizag girl Lieutenant Commander P Swathi. The vessel is captained by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi, and the crew comprises Lieutenant Commanders Pratibha Jamwal, P Swathi, and Lieutenants S Vijaya Devi, B Aishwarya and Payal Gupta.

The crew has also been collating and updating meteorological, ocean and wave data on regular basis for accurate weather forecast by India Meteorological Department (IMD), as also monitoring marine pollution on the high seas. They would interact extensively with the local populace, especially children, during the port halt to promote Ocean sailing and the spirit of adventure.

The INSV Tarini left from Goa on September 10 and so far covered 4,800 Nautical miles crossing the Equator on September 25 and the Tropic of Capricorn on October 6. The indigenously-built INSV Tarini is a 56-foot sailing vessel, which was inducted in the Indian Navy earlier this year.

The vessel would return to Goa in April next year on completion of the voyage. The expedition is being covered in five legs, with stop-overs at 4 ports- Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands), and Cape Town (South Africa).