Navika Sagar Parikrama is a project wherein a
team of women officers of the Indian Navy would circumnavigate the globe on an
Indian-built sail boat INSV Tarini. This is the first ever Indian
circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew. The project is scheduled to
commence in early Sep 17. INSV Tarini is the sister vessel of INSV Mhadei. The
project is considered essential towards promoting Ocean Sailing activities in
the Navy while depicting Government of India’s thrust for ‘Nari Shakti’.
The first Indian Solo circumnavigation was
undertaken by Capt Dilip Donde, SC (Retd) from 19 Aug 09 to 19 May 10 onboard
the Indian built vessel, INSV Mhadei. The first Indian non-stop solo
circumnavigation was undertaken by Cdr Abhilash Tomy, KC from 01 Nov 12 to 31
Mar 13.
The crew of INSV Tarini
comprises :-
|
S
No
|
Rank,
Name & No.
|
Home
Town
|
State
|
Sailing
Experience
|
|
1.
|
Lt Cdr Vartika Joshi, 43077-A
|
Rishikesh
|
Uttarakhand
|
The officer has sailed from Rio De Janeiro to Cape Town
in 2014 and from Port Blair – Vizag – Chennai – Kochi onboard Mhadei. She
skippered INSV Mhadei from Vizag to Goa in Feb 16, Goa to Mauritius and back
from May to Jul 16 and from Goa to Cape Town in Dec 16. The officer also
skippered INSV Tarini from Goa to Mauritius and back from May to Jul 17.
|
|
2.
|
Lt Cdr Pratibha Jamwal, 07109-F
|
Kullu
|
Himanchal Pradesh
|
The officer has sailed onboard Mhadei from Goa to Port
Blair in 2014, Vizag to Goa in Feb 16, Goa to Mauritius and back from May to
Jul 16 and from Goa to Cape Town in Dec 16. The officer also sailed onboard
INSV Tarini from Goa to Mauritius and back from May to Jul 17.
|
|
3.
|
Lt Cdr Swathi P,
07234-R
|
Visakhapatnam
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
The officer has sailed onboard Mhadei from Cape Town
to Goa in 2014, sailed from Vizag to Kochi in Feb 16, Goa to Mauritius and
back from May to Jul 16 and from Goa to Cape Town in Dec 16. She also
participated in the recently concluded Cape to Rio race 2017. The officer
also sailed onboard INSV Tarini from Goa to Mauritius and back from May to
Jul 17.
|
|
4.
|
Lt
Aishwarya Boddapati,
43151-W
|
Hyderabad
|
Telangana
|
The officer has sailed onboard Mhadei from Vizag to Goa
in Feb 16, Goa to Mauritius and back from May to Jul 16 and from Goa to Cape
Town in Dec 16. The officer also sailed onboard INSV Tarini from Goa to
Mauritius and back from May to Jul 17.
|
|
5.
|
Lt Sh Vijaya Devi, 70712-H
|
Moirang Kwakta Santhong
|
Manipur
|
The officer has sailed onboard Mhadei from Goa to Port
Blair in 2014, Vizag to Goa in Feb 16, Goa to Mauritius and back from May to
Jul 16 and from Goa to Cape Town in Dec 16. The officer also sailed onboard
INSV Tarini from Goa to Mauritius and back from May to Jul 17.
|
|
6.
|
Lt Payal Gupta,
70724-K
|
Dehradun
|
Uttrakhand
|
The officer has sailed from Vizag to Goa onboard Mhadei
in Feb 16, Goa to Mauritius and back from May to Jul 16 and from Goa to Cape
Town in Dec 16. She also participated in the recently concluded Cape to Rio
race 2017. The officer also sailed onboard INSV Tarini from Goa to Mauritius
and back from May to Jul 17.
|
The all-women crew have
trained extensively for the forthcoming voyage. They have sailed approximately
20,000 Nm onboard INSV Mhadei and Tarini as part of training, which includes
two expeditions to Mauritius (in 2016 and 2017) and a voyage from Goa to Cape
Town in Dec 16.
INSV Tarini, a
55 foot sailing vessel has been built by M/s Aquarius Shipyard Pvt Ltd, Goa.
Tarini was inducted into the Indian Navy on 18 Feb 17. The vessel has sailed
approximately 8,000 Nm till date. Navika Sagar Parikrama would be
covered in five legs with stop-overs at four ports (same ports as Capt Dilip
Donde) for replenishment of ration and repairs as necessary. Estimated dates
for the legs are as follows:-
|
Ser
|
Leg Description
|
Cardinal Dates
|
Number of Sailing Days
|
|
(a)
|
Goa - Fremantle
(Australia)
|
05 Sep 17 – 12 Oct
17
|
37
|
|
(b)
|
Fremantle
(Australia) - Lyttelton (New Zealand)
|
25 Oct 17 – 16 Nov
17
|
22
|
|
(c)
|
Lyttelton (New
Zealand) - Port Stanley (Falklands)
|
23 Nov 17 – 28 Dec
17
|
35
|
|
(d)
|
Port Stanley
(Falklands) - Cape Town (South Africa)
|
10 Jan 18 – 08 Feb
18
|
28
|
|
(e)
|
Cape Town (South
Africa) - Goa
|
21 Feb 18 – 04 Apr
18
|
42
|
The
expedition has been aptly titled ‘Navika Sagar Parikrama’, aimed at promoting
women empowerment in the country and ocean sailing by the Indian Navy. The
expedition would inspire the youth of our nation to develop an understanding of
the sea and instill a spirit of adventure and camaraderie.
Additional
aims of the Expedition are as follows:-
(a) Nari
Shakti. In consonance with the National policy to empower women to
attain their full potential, the expedition aims to showcase ‘Nari Shakti’ on
the world platform. This would also help to discard the societal attitudes and
mindset towards women in India by raising visibility of participation by women
in challenging environment.
(b)
Environment and Climate Change. Sailing encourages the
use of environment friendly non-conventional renewable energy resources which
affects the life of women. The expedition thereby aims at harnessing the energy
to optimise the livelihood of the women onboard.
(c) Make
in India. The voyage also aims to show case the ‘Make in
India’ initiative by sailing onboard the indigenously built INSV Tarini.
(d) Meteorological/
Ocean/ Wave Data Observation. The crew would also collate and update
Meteorological/ Ocean/ Wave data on a daily basis for subsequent analysis by
research and development organisations.
(e) Marine
Pollution. The crew would monitor and report marine pollution on the
high seas.
(f) Interaction
with Local PIOs. Since the expedition aims to promote Ocean Sailing and
the spirit of adventure, the crew would interact extensively with the local
PIOs at the various port halts.
______________________________________________________________________________
DKS/AC
56/17