Indian vessel INSV Tarini, with her all-women crew, preparing to undertake a historic circumnavigation of the globe in August 2017, arrived yesterday on her maiden visit to Mauritius since her induction into the Indian Navy in February 2017. The circumnavigation on INSV Tarini is scheduled to be completed at Mumbai in April 2018.
The Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, Mrs Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo, visited the vessel yesterday in Port Louis. Speaking of gender equality, one of the main concerns of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, the Minister lauded the courage and spirit of this all-women crew who are setting forth the way for women around the globe to follow.
This crew of six women undertaking the circumnavigation, Mrs Jeewa-Daureeawoo underpinned will set an example and a new trend for women by cutting across barriers of gender inequality, hence promoting women empowerment.
The circumnavigation on INSV Tarini will last around seven months and this all-women team has already sailed INSV Mhadei, Indian Navy’s first sailing vessel, to Visakhapatnam from Goa for the International Fleet Review 2016 and thereafter to Mauritius and back.
INSV Tarini is 55 feet long and built in India in line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Indian Navy at Aquarius Shipyard Pvt Ltd at Divar, Goa. The vessel has been built to a stock design by Van de Stadt of the Netherlands. The hull is made of wooden core fiberglass sandwich construction for a better performance than aluminum and steel and the vessel carries a suite of six sails. The mast of the boat is 25 metres tall and has been custom built by Southern Spars, Cape Town, for sailing in extreme conditions.
The vessel which reached Mauritius after 40 days, is skippered by Lieutenant Commander, a naval architect, and other crew members are Lieutenant Commander Jamwal, and Lieutenants Swathi, Devi, Gupta and Aishwarya.