Indian Navy's all-woman crew to circumnavigate the globe
What's the story
In a "historic occasion for India", a six-member all-woman team from the Indian Navy set sail from Goa today in a mission to circumnavigate the globe.
They will circumnavigate the globe in an Indian-manufactured sail boat, the INSV Tarini.
The mission is being skippered by Lt. Cdr. Vartika Joshi.
This is the first-ever attempt by an all-woman crew to circumnavigate the globe.
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Indian women are going to make history
"This is a historic day for India. A historic day, which will be marked in navigation history and globally. Our women are going to stand out for doing something which mostly wouldn't even have been thought of," said newly-appointed Defence Minister Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman.
The voyage
A detailed plan of the mission
The mission has been dubbed 'Nakiva Sagar Parikrama', and will complete the circumnavigation of the globe in five legs with stops at four ports.
The team will take stops for replenishment of rations and repairs at Fremantle, Australia, Lyttleton, New Zealand, Port Stanley, Falklands, and Cape Town, South Africa.
They are expected to complete the circumnavigation and return to Goa in April 2018.
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The mission has fallen to an experienced and capable crew
The six-member all-woman crew tasked with the mission has sailed an approximate distance of over 20,000 nautical miles on board the INSV Mhadei and INSV Tarini as part of training. These included one Goa-Cape Town voyage (2016), and two expeditions to Mauritius (2016 and 2017).
Nari Shakti
Towards female empowerment
The mission stands in consonance with India's national policy to empower women called "Nari Shakti".
It is aimed at "discard[ing] the societal attitudes and mind-set towards women in India," said the Navy in a press release.
The crew, apart from its primary goal, has been tasked with collating and updating meteorological/ocean/wave data on a daily basis, and recording marine pollution for research purposes.
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The crew is looking inspire women in India
"It is a great opportunity and great matter of pride for us...Of course we being an all women team, it is a great boost to the women genre in the country," said Lt. Cdr. Joshi.