All-woman Indian Navy embarks on circumnavigation of globe; PM wishes them luck

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today wished success to an all-woman team of the Indian Navy as it embarked on circumnavigation of the globe, a first of its kind from India.

The six women Naval officers had met the prime minister on August 16 and he had exhorted them to project the country'?s capabilities and strengths across the world.

The 'Navika Sagar Parikrama' was flagged off by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman near the Panaji coast. The expedition being undertaken on an India-built sail boat INS Tarini is slated to conclude in Panaji in March next year.

"Today is a special day! 6 women officers of the Navy begin their journey of circumnavigating the globe on board INSV Tarini," Modi tweeted today.

Today is a special day! 6 women officers of the Navy begin their journey of circumnavigating the globe on board INSV Tarini.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 10, 2017

"The entire nation comes together in wishing the all- women team of Navika Sagar Parikrama the very best in their remarkable endeavour," he added in another tweet.

#NavikaSagarParikrama @DefenceMinIndia Smt @nsitharaman flags off #INSVTarini with six women officers onboard for Circumnavigation of globe pic.twitter.com/PbGHyG6wXa

— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) September 10, 2017

The expedition will be covered in five legs, with stopovers at 4 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 inducted in the Indian Navy earlier this year.

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