INSV Tarini, the Indian Navy vessel which is on a circumnavigation of the globe, reached Cape Town in South Africa at 11.30 am IST on Friday, 2 March.

This is the final leg of the expedition called Navika Sagar Parikrma and the last of the four port calls along the route.

The all-woman six-member crew led by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi sailed into the Cape Town port of Yacht Marina from where they posted selfies.

Indian Navy, through its official Twitter handle, wished the crew on Holi.

#INSVTarini enters Cape Town……..Happy Holi Team Tarini @DefenceMinIndia @nsitharaman @SpokespersonMoD @RuchiraKamboj pic.twitter.com/BYpzYrj2NC

— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) March 2, 2018

The official Twitter handle of the Indian Navy has been posting pictures of the voyage which was flagged off on 10 September 2017 from Goa and is expected to be completed this month.

The crew was welcomed at the port by Ruchira Kamboj, the Indian High Commissioner to South Africa and Lesotho, and Patricia de Lille, Executive Mayor of Cape Town among other dignitaries.

“It’s a great honour to welcome to our shores the first Indian All Women Crew who are circumnavigating the globe on board the INSVTarini,” de Lille wrote on Twitter.

Praising the crew, the mayor said, “These young women are not only an inspiration to women from India but to thousands of Capetonians and women across the world.”

The High Commissioner, the mayor and others celebrated Holi with the crew which also includes Lt Cdr Pratibha Jamwal, Lt Cdr P Swathi, Lt Payal Gupta, Lt Aishwarya Boddapati and Lt Shourgrakpam Vijaya Devi.

Today Holi colors were brighter with the Tarini girls#INSVTarini #NavikaSagarParikrama #HappyHoli #India pic.twitter.com/GjuHF0IlVy

— Ruchira Kamboj (@RuchiraKamboj) March 2, 2018

INSV Tarini, a sailboat, has previously berthed at Port Stanley in Falkland Island, Lyttelton port in New Zealand and Fremantle in Western Australia.

For a sailboat’s voyage to qualify as circumnavigation, the voyage has to start and finish at the same port; cover a distance of at least 21, 600 NMs; keep south of the three great capes of the Southern Hemisphere; cross all longitudes in the same direction; cross the equator twice; not use any canals and not use the engine for propulsion.

The crew will be sailing for Goa from Cape Town on 14 March. They will hold meetings and interactions with local leadership and students during their stay in Cape Town.