New Delhi, Sept 12 : A sailing expedition by the officers and cadets of National Defence Academy (NDA), to a few Indian Ocean Region countries on board a Sail Training Ship ''Tarangini'' is scheduled to take place from September 21 to November 24.

The INS Tarangini, the Indian Navy''s Sail Training Barque, will be used for this expedition. It is custom-built for sail training of officers and cadets. Built at the Goa Shipyard Limited, Vasco da Gama, Tarangini is the only sailing ship to be commissioned into the Indian Navy on 11 November 1997, and is based at Kochi under Southern Naval Command.

The ship is built for long voyages and can be deployed at sea continuously for a period of over 20 days. She is 54 metres long and carries 18 sails with a sail area of almost 1000 square metres.

The sailing expedition will provide the cadets an opportunity to interact with officers and cadets of other countries and also go a long away in projecting the ethos of this great institution.

It will also provide them an ideal platform to gain first hand experience of the vagaries at sea and foster character virtues of courage, comradeship and endurance.

INS Tarangini would be flagged off for the sailing expedition by Vice Admiral S. K. Damle AVSM, NM, VSM the Flag Officer Commanding in Chief Southern Naval Command from Kochi on September 21.

The ship will visit the ports of Salalah (Oman), Port Victoria (Seychelles), Male (Maldives) and Colombo (Sri Lanka) before culminating at Kochi on November 24. She will traverse a distance of 4900 nautical miles in 65 days.

Two officers and 60 cadets in two groups will take part in the expedition. These cadets shall undergo a training capsule for one week duration on board the ship prior to setting sail for the voyage. One officer and 30 cadets will undertake first half of the voyage from Kochi till Seychelles, where they will be replaced by the second batch of cadets who will sail rest of the voyage.

Major General B. S. Grewal, Deputy Commandant and CI of the Academy shall be accompanying the cadets in the last leg of the voyage from Colombo to Kochi. (ANI)