Sitharaman to flag off women's circumnavigation expedition

Panaji : Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will flag off the Indian Navy women crew’s attempt to circumnavigate the globe here tomorrow. An all-women crew will be managing the whole operation on a sailing vessel in the first-ever global journey, said a release issued by the Press Information Bureau.

“The flagging off of ‘Navika Sagar Parikrama’ would be held at the hands of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at 12.30 pm on September 10 at INS Mandovi Boat Pool, Verem, near Panaji,” it said. The crew would be circumnavigating the globe on an Indian built sail boat, INSV Tarini.

The circumnavigation will finish around March 2018. During this time, the team would be sailing over many oceans, a naval spokesman said. The entire distance will be covered in five legs and the crew will have stop overs at four ports for replenishment of ration and repairs, as necessary, he said.

The ports where the crew will have stop overs are: Fremantle (Australia), Lyttelton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands) and Cape Town (South Africa), the spokesman said.