PANAJI: The Indian Navy will write a new page in maritime history today when six of its women officers sail into the INS Mandovi boat pool, the culmination of an eight month-long journey. It marks the end of the world’s first-ever circumnavigation attempt by women naval officers.The six-member crew cast off the mooring lines from INS Mandovi, its home port, on September 11. Since then, the vessel and its intrepid sailors have made four port calls at Fremantle in Australia, Lyttelton in New Zeland, Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, and Cape Town in South Africa.“Welcome Home Tarini. INSV Tarini is returning back to Goa, India, after her historic circumnavigation of the globe! I and chief of naval staff Admiral Sunil Lanba will welcome them,” defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.The chief spokesperson of the Indian Navy said that INS Tarini was less than 20 nautical miles away from Goa and is expected to arrive at 4:15pm on Monday at Verem.The crew is led by Lt Commander Vartika Joshi and comprises Lt Commander Pratibha Jamwal, Lt Commander P Swati, Lt Vijaya Devi, Lt B Aishwarya, and Lt Payal Gupta.The INSV Tarini is an indigenously-built sailing vessel and was inducted in the Navy in 2017. During their journey, the crew has extensively collected meteorological, ocean, wave, and marine pollution data. The vessel also encountered rough seas, high stormy conditions, and severely cold temperatures, making the expedition an extremely challenging one. The Indian Navy also said that the crew had to face strong winds of 60 knots and high waves of up to 7 metres.

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