Lt Cdr Dilna K and Lt Cdr Roopa A onboard INSV Tarini in Cape Town (PC: Indian Navy)
New Delhi: After encountering a series of rough seas and extremely cold temperature coupled with stormy weather conditions, the Indian Navy’s INSV Tarini – led by women officers Lieutenant Commander Dilna K and Lieutenant Commander Roopa A – entered Cape Town in South Africa on April 1.
With this, INSV Tarini completed the fourth leg of the Navika Sagar Parikrama II expedition. Upon their arrival at Cape Town, India’s consul general, Ruby Jaspreet; South African Navy chief of staff, Rear Admiral (JG) Lisa Hendricks; and the defence adviser of India at Pretoria, Captain Atul Sapahia; welcome the vessel and crew members.
On October 2, 2024, Indian Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi flagged off the Navika Sagar Parikrama II expedition from Goa.
“The mission aims to cover more than 23,400 nautical miles (approximately 43,300 kilometres) in eight months, with a scheduled return to Goa in May 2025,” the Indian Navy spokesman, Captain Vivek Madhwal, said.
So far, the expedition has had three stopovers at Fremantle in Australia, Lyttelton in New Zealand and Port Stanley, Falklands in the UK.
The vessel will be at Royal Cape Yacht Club for two weeks for scheduled maintenance and repairs. During their stay in South Africa, Lieutenant Commander Dilna K and Lieutenant Commander Roopa A will engage and interact with the South African Navy at Simon’s Town Naval Base and Gordon’s Bay Naval College.
“Community outreach events are also planned during their stay.”
During their over six months of circumnavigation, the vessel and the crew encountered rough seas and extremely cold temperature, which made the task highly challenging and demanding.
The passage so far witnessed winds in excess of 50 knots (93kmph) and waves upto 7 metres (23 feet) high.
The indigenously built INSV Tarini is a 56-foot saiing vessel, which was inducted in the Indian Navy in 2018 and has participated in many such expeditions earlier. “The vessel is a true testament of ‘Make in India’ and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative of the Government of India.”
The Navika Sagar Parikrama-II expedition also promotes women empowerment in the Indian Armed Forces and is expected to motivate many young women to join the Services and Indian Navy in particular. This edition is also aimed at furthering marine and scientific researches.
The stopover of Tarini at Cape Town exhibits the growing relations between India and South Africa and how India stands committed to strengthen its maritime cooperation with the friendly countries in the Indian Ocean Region.
In the recent past, Indian Naval Ship Talwar participated in the 8th edition of Exercise IBSAMAR in October 2024 in South Africa.
In January, the latest stealth frigate of Indian Navy INS Tushil made a port call at Durban and engaged with the South African Navy and the Indian community in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
“Such visits and engagements bring the navies together to address the common challenges in the maritime domain and learn from the best practices for ensuring safe and secure seas.”
The vessel is likely to depart Cape Town on April 15.
Read also about Navika Sagar Parikrama I
INSV Tarini crew back home after 188 days, covering 17,000 nautical mile historic voyage
