INSV Tarini reaches Cape Town on final leg of global voyage

The Indian Navy’s sailing vessel, INSV Tarini, reached Cape Town, South Africa, marking the final stop of its global circumnavigation expedition, the Navy announced on Tuesday.

The expedition, Navika Sagar Parikrama-II, was flagged off on October 2, 2024, by Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi and is set to conclude in Goa this May. The mission, led by two women officers, Lt Cdr Dilna K and Lt Cdr Roopa A, aims to cover over 23,400 nautical miles (43,300 km).

So far, the vessel has made three stopovers — Fremantle (Australia), Lyttelton (New Zealand) and Port Stanley (Falklands, UK). Upon entering Cape Town, Consul General Ruby Jaspreet and Rear Admiral Lisa Hendricks, Chief of Staff of the South African Navy Fleet, welcomed the crew, with the South African Naval Band performing at the port.

The Royal Cape Yacht Club will host INSV Tarini for two weeks for maintenance and repairs before its scheduled departure on April 15. During their stay, the crew will engage with the South African Navy at Simon’s Town Naval Base and Gordon’s Bay Naval College, along with outreach events for the Indian community.

The journey has been gruelling, with the crew braving 50-knot (93 kmph) winds and 7-m (23-foot) high waves in stormy conditions.

Commissioned in 2018, the indigenously built 56-foot INSV Tarini has participated in several such expeditions, furthering India’s maritime legacy.