Two female Indian Navy officers to set sail for a global expedition

New Delhi: Two female officers of the Indian Navy will embark on an 'extraordinary expedition’ across the seas, India Today reported citing the Navy.

Lieutenant Commanders Roopa A and Dilna K will set sail as part of the second Navika Sagar Parikrama aboard INSV Tarini.

It is reported that they have been getting ready for the global expedition over the past three years.

A statement by the Navy said that it made ‘significant efforts to revitalise the sailing tradition’, adding that it is committed to ‘preserve maritime heritage and promote seamanship skills’.

The officers earlier were part of a six-member crew on a trans-oceanic expedition beginning from Goa to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, via Cape Town, South Africa, and back, according to the report.

Both officers carried out a sailing expedition from Goa to Port Blair and back in what the Nevy said was a double-handed mode.

Earlier this year, they pulled off a sortie from Goa to Port Louis, Mauritius, again in double-handed mode.

They were trained under ace circumnavigator and Golden Globe Race winner, Commodore Abhilash Tomy (Retired).

The Navy termed Sagar Parikrama a ‘gruelling voyage’ which requires ‘extreme skills, physical fitness, and mental alertness,’ adding that both officers are training ‘rigorously’ alongside their thousands of miles of experience.

The Navy also unveiled the logo of the Navika Sagar Parikrama, according to the report.