Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini has achieved a remarkable feat, with two women Navy officers on board successfully crossing Point Nemo—the most remote location in the ocean. This milestone is part of Navika Sagar Parikrama II, an ambitious expedition by the Indian Navy aiming to complete a double-handed circumnavigation of the globe via the three Great Capes.
Lt Cdr Dilna K and Lt Cdr Roopa A, sailing aboard INSV Tarini, demonstrated immense resilience and courage as they navigated through some of the world’s most isolated waters. “As part of Navika Sagar Parikrama II, INSV Tarini charts through the world’s most isolated waters! Lt Cdr Dilna K and Lt Cdr Roopa A crossed Point Nemo – the Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility. A testament to resilience, courage & the spirit of adventure,” the Indian Navy proudly announced.
Tarini embarked on this challenging voyage from Goa on October 2, 2024. After completing the second leg of the journey in Lyttelton, New Zealand, on December 22, the crew set sail earlier this month for the longest and most grueling stretch of the expedition—5,600 nautical miles to Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands.
POINT NEMO: EARTH’S MOST REMOTE LOCATION Point Nemo, located in the Pacific Ocean, is the farthest point from any land, over 1,600 miles away. It is so isolated between New Zealand and Antarctica that astronauts aboard the International Space Station are often the closest humans to it. Due to its remoteness, Point Nemo has been designated as a ‘spacecraft cemetery,’ where decommissioned spacecraft, including the ISS in 2030, are planned to be deorbited safely.
Over 260 pieces of space junk, including NASA’s Skylab and Russia’s Mir space station, have found their ultimate resting place in this barren marine region, which was first discovered in 1992 by Canadian-Russian engineer Hrvoje Lukatela. Point Nemo continues to be the safest site for re-entering space debris, avoiding threats over inhabited regions, according to Holger Krag, Head of the European Space Agency’s Space Safety Programme.