By IANS,
Pune : As part of the diamond jubilee celebrations of the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakvasla, 30 cadets will embark later this month on a sailing expedition on the high seas, it was announced here Friday.
Vice Admiral S.K. Damle, who heads the Southern Naval Command, will flag off the three-month expedition on the Indian Navy’s sail training ship INS Tarangini from Kochi Sep 21.
In the first phase, 30 cadets accompanied by an officer will sail to Salalah in Oman and to Port Victoria in Seychelles. There, another set of 30 cadets and an officer will take over and said to the Maldives and then to Colombo.
“The expedition will provide the 60 cadets an opportunity to interact with officers and cadets of the countries they will be visiting. It will help them gain experience of the vagaries at sea and foster virtues of courage, comradeship and endurance,” an NDA official explained.
Commissioned in 1997, INS Tarangini has been custom-built by the Goa Shipyard for sail training of officers and cadets. The vessel is 54 metres long and is based at Kochi port.