Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini with a six-member crew entered Goa harbour on Tuesday, reaching India after successfully completing a 17,000 NM (nautical mile) trans-ocean inter-continental voyage after 188 days.
The six-member crew was received at the jetty by Chief Minister of Goa Dr. Pramod Sawant, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani, and Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar.
“The achievement of crew in navigating through adverse weather conditions and undertaking in-house repairs whenever needed are shining examples of innovation and ingenuity that our countrymen possess,” Adm Kumar said, while congratulating the team. He added that this voyage towards women’s empowerment is not an end, but the start of a new phase of providing an ocean of opportunities for female sailors to conquer the seven seas.
The ‘Flag In’ ceremony commenced with the display of yachting skills by young and promising yachtsmen of the Navy Boys Sports Company. This was followed by a marvellous flypast by versatile naval aviation platforms such as the Chetak, Kamov 31, Hawks, IL 38, Dornier and MiG-29K aircraft.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Sawant complimented the crew and referred to other accomplishments in sailing by the Navy exemplified by the international accolades received by Captain Dilip Donde (Retd.), Cdr Abhilash Tomy (Retd.) and the Navika Sagar Parikrama team of six women naval officers. Ms. Irani particularly appreciated two women officers, Lt Cdr K. Dilna and Lt Cdr A. Roopa who were part of the team.
The 188-day voyage of INSV Tarini’s historic voyage was from Goa to Rio de Janeiro via Cape Town and back.
