Six women Naval officers, who are set to undertake the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew, today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi who exhorted them to project the country's capabilities and strengths across the world.
The expedition on sailing vessel INSV Tarini, titled 'Navika Sagar Parikrama', will begin later this month from Goa and is expected to conclude there in March 2018, according to a PMO statement.
The expedition will be covered in five legs, with stopovers at 4 ports -- Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands), and Cape Town (South Africa), it said.
INSV Tarini is a 55-foot sailing vessel, which has been built indigenously, and inducted in the Indian Navy earlier this year.
The vessel will be skippered by Lt. Commander Vartika Joshi, and the crew comprises Lt. Commanders Pratibha Jamwal, P Swathi, and Lieutenants S Vijaya Devi, B Aishwarya and Payal Gupta.
"Met 6 bright officers of the Indian navy who are going to circumnavigate the globe on the sailing vessel, INSV Tarini," tweeted the prime minister.
"This is the 1st circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew from India. I wished the officers the very best for their endeavour," he added.
Posting his photographs with the crew members, Modi tweeted about every individual of the team.
"Met Lt Cdr Vartika Joshi. Hailing from Uttarakhand, she has rich sailing experience & has led INSV Mhadei as well as INSV Tarini," he wrote in one of the tweets.
"Interacted with Lt Cdr Pratibha Jamwal, who belongs to Himachal. She has sailed from Goa to Port Blair, Goa to Mauritius, Goa to Cape Town," he added.
"Delighted to meet Lt Cdr P Swathi, who has sailed onboard INSV Mhadei. She also took part in the recent Cape to Rio race. She is from AP," he added.
"Discussed a wide range of issues with Lt. Payal Gupta. She belongs to the hill state of Uttarakhand & has distinguished herself as a sailor," he said in another tweet.
"Manipur's Lt Shourgrakpam Vijaya Devi has sailed extensively from 2014 onwards. We had a very good interaction," he said.
Posting his photo with Lt Aishwarya Boddapati, Modi said she has sailed onboard INSV Tarini & Mhadei in 2017 and 2016 respectively. She belongs to Telangana.
During the interaction, the crew explained details of their upcoming voyage to the Prime Minister who wished them well and said he would keep track of their progress around the world, the PMO statement said.
"He exhorted them to project India's capabilities and strengths across the world. He also encouraged them to write and share their experiences, after the successful completion of the voyage," the statement added.
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