Modi meets all-women crew set to sail around globe

New Delhi Aug 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met the six women officers of the Indian Navy who are due to circumnavigate the globe on the sailing vessel INSV Tarini.

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.

"He exhorted them to project India s capabilities and strengths across the world and also encouraged them to write and share their experiences after the successful completion of the voyage " a government statement said.

This is the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew. The six officers will begin their voyage later this month from Goa and expect to return to Goa in March 2018 it added.

The expedition has been titled Navika Sagar Parikrama and will be covered in five legs with stop-overs at four ports -- Fremantle (Australia) Lyttleton (New Zealand) Port Stanley (Falklands) and Cape Town (South Africa).

"INSV Tarini is a 55-foot sailing vessel which has been built indigenously and was inducted in the Indian Navy earlier this year " the statement said.

The vessel will be skippered by Lt. Commander Vartika Joshi and the crew comprises of Lt. Commanders Pratibha Jamwal and P Swathi and Lieutenants S Vijaya Devi B Aishwarya and Payal Gupta it added.

--IANS
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