New Delhi, January 19: In what is believed to be a historic moment for India, an all-woman Indian Navy team on a global circumnavigation trip hoisted the Indian tricolour onboard INSV Tarini on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday congratulated the six-member crew and said he was "proud of their accomplishments". The Prime Minister took to Twitter and said, “Wonderful news! Delighted that INSV Tarini has rounded Cape Horn in the last few hours. We are extremely proud of their accomplishments”. Congratulating the all-woman Indian Navy team, wishes poured from across the nation.

With great pride, the crew led by Lt. Commander Vartika Joshi, along with Lt. Commanders Pratibha Jamwal and P Swathi, and Lieutenants S Vijaya Devi, B Aishwarya and Payal Gupta hoisted the tricolour as they crossed the Cape Horn. The crew is now racing towards Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. INSV Tarini, a 55-foot sailing vessel has been built by M/s Aquarius Shipyard Pvt Ltd, Goa. It was inducted into the Indian Navy in early 2017. The eight-month-long journey has been covered in five legs with stop-overs at four ports — Fremantle (Australia), Lyttelton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands), and Cape Town (South Africa).

In November 2017, the Prime Minister had expressed his happiness over the “unmatched determination” of the women sailors and had also conveyed Diwali greetings to them through a video call. PM Modi met the six-member women crew on August 16, 2017 before they embarked on the 22,100-nautical mile circumnavigation journey.

The eight-month long expedition aims to showcase 'nari shakti' on world platform and increase their participation in the challenging environment. The crew of the Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini, led by Vartika Joshi, started their maiden voyage on September 10 from Goa. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had flagged off the vessel. The indigenously-built INSV Tarini reached Lyttelton in New Zealand early last month after their first stop in Australia. The crew's four stop-over points include, Fremantle in Australia, Lyttelton, Port Stanley and Cape Town.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 19, 2018 03:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).