Navy's all-woman crew aboard INSV Tarini begins return journey

An all-women sailing team of the Indian Navy today left Cape Town for its return journey to India, nearly six months after embarking on a historic voyage to circumnavigate the globe.

This is the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew, according to the Indian Navy.

"Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini left Cape Town today for the final leg of circumnavigation passage to Goa. The yacht was flagged off by Indian High Commissioner Ruchira Kamboj," the Navy said in a statement here.

The INSV Tarini had arrived at Cape Town on March 2 after THE completion of the fourth leg of the trip.

The team is being led by by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi, and the crew comprises Lieutenant Commanders Pratibha Jamwal, P Swathi, and Lieutenants S Vijaya Devi, B Aishwarya and Payal Gupta.

During their stay at the harbour in Cape Town, the team interacted with students from various institutions, including the University of Western Cape.

INSV Tarini is a 55-foot sailing vessel, which has been built indigenously and inducted into the Indian Navy last year.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had flagged off the vessel for the trip from Goa on September 10.