Navy's 2-member women crew of circumnavigation expedition reaches South Africa

The Indian Navy’s Sailing Vessel, the INSV Tarini, which is undertaking a global circumnavigation expedition reached Cape Town, South Africa, for its fourth and last stop, the Indian Navy said on Tuesday.

The expedition, named ‘Navika Sagar Parikrama-II’, was flagged off on October 2 last year by Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi and is scheduled to be back in Goa in May. The expedition is being undertaken by two women officers of the Indian Navy, Lt Cdr Dilna K and Lt Cdr Roopa A.

The mission aims to cover more than 23,400 nautical miles (approximately 43,300 kilometers) in these months. The expedition has so far had three stopovers at Fremantle (Australia), Lyttelton (New Zealand) and Port Stanley, Falklands (UK).

The Navy said the INSV Tarini entered Cape Town, South Africa, completing the fourth leg of the expedition. The vessel and the crew were welcomed by Ruby Jaspreet, Consul General of India, at Cape Town, Rear Admiral  Lisa Hendricks, Chief of Staff, South African Navy Fleet.

The South African Naval Band performed while welcoming the vessel to the port. The vessel will be at Royal Cape Yacht Club for two weeks for scheduled maintenance and repairs. The INSV Tarini is likely to depart from Cape Town on April 15.

The crew of the vessel will engage and interact with the South African Navy at Simon’s Town Naval Base and Gordon’s Bay Naval College.

Indian community outreach events are also planned during their stay.

The vessel and the crew having encountered rough seas and extremely cold temperature coupled with stormy weather conditions, made the task of circumnavigation highly challenging and demanding. The passage so far witnessed winds in excess of 50 knots (93 kmph) and waves up to 7 meters (23 feet)  high.

The indigenously built INSV Tarini is a 56-foot sailing vessel, which was inducted in the Indian Navy in 2018 and has participated in many such expeditions earlier.