Navy sail boat comes home after cross-country voyage
Kochi: The sail training ship of the Indian Navy, INS Tarangini, returned to Indian shores on Tuesday after a seven-month long voyage across the world, during which it crossed waters of 13 countries.
The ship had embarked on its voyage, named ‘Lokayan 18’, on April 10 this year from Kochi.
“During the voyage, the ship has proudly ‘shown the flag’ and highlighted the diverse culture of India across 15 ports in 13 countries,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
“A welcome ceremony was conducted by the Southern Naval Command at south jetty of the naval base to mark the occasion.
“The ship sailed across the Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Suez Canal, Mediterranean Sea, Strait of Gibraltar, North Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay, English Channel and North Sea, right up to Norway before commencing her homeward passage back to Kochi,” it said.
During its voygae, the ship participated in events like ‘Three Festival Tall Ships Regatta’ at Bordeaux, France, and ‘Tall Ships Races Europe 2018’ which started at Sunderland, the UK, and culminated at Harlingen, Norway.
“INS Tarangini is a three-masted ‘square rigged’ barque which carries a total of 20 sails. She is the First Sail Training Ship in Indian Navy and was commissioned on Nov 11, 1997. In her 21 years of glorious service, she has sailed over 2,20,000 nautical miles to date across the world’s oceans,” the Ministry said.
