INS Tarangini

INS Tarangini is a tall ship of the Indian Navy, commissioned in 1997 as a sail training ship for naval cadets. Tarangini is a three-masted barque, square rigged on the fore and main masts and fore-and-aft rigged on the mizzen mast. She was constructed in Goa to a design by the British naval architect Colin Mudie, and launched on 1 December 1995.

INS Tarangini started its first circumnavigation of the globe in 2003-04 with the theme of "Building Bridges of Friendship across the Oceans". During the fifteen-month voyage, the ship covered 33000 nmi and visited 36 ports in 18 countries. The ship was received by the president, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

On 10 January 2007, INS Tarangini started for another overseas voyage of ten month duration named Lokayan 07. In all the Tarangini will be calling on 23 ports in 16 countries on this voyage. The ship departed Kochi on 10 January 2007 and transited through the Suez Canal to reach the Atlantic Coast of North America. The ship participated in a series of tall ship events such as The World Peace Cup, Maritime Festival of Charleston, Sail Virginia, Sail Rhode Island and Sail Boston and returned to port on October 2007 after covering 22000 nmi.

The ship also undertook the Chola Expedition organized by the Maritime History Society of India to retrace the path followed by the Chola Seafarers from January to March 2008. The ship called at the ports of Jakarta, Singapore and Phuket during the expedition.

Keeping up with the tradition of flying the flag at foreign ports, INS Tarangini flew the Indian flag at the International Fleet Review during Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Sri Lanka Navy in December 2010. She was the only tall ship to grace the event. The ship was the first ship to be reviewed by Sri Lankan president. The ship stood out during the review with its yards manned by Indian Naval cadets and Sri Lankan Navy midshipmen.

The value of sail training lies in its unique ability to foster the virtues of courage, camaraderie, esprit-de-corps and endurance- necessary ingredients for a strong character. Sailing platforms are ideal for exposing young officers to the challenges at sea to imbibe that indefinable quality of "sea sense". Whilst under sail, every greenhorn enhances his appreciation of the elements to add value to his professional life in the Navy.

INS Tarangini during the last 15 years has participated in 13 expeditions sailing over 1,88,000 NM, staying over 2100 days at sea, visiting seventy four ports in 39 countries – transforming young naval cadets into mariners. During such expeditions, the incredible panorama of cultures seen at far off lands, the exhilarating and demanding tall ship races, the exacting weather conditions and the enjoyable sea festivals, have undoubtedly left an imprint of achievement, created a sense of buoyancy and broadened the horizons of young trainees.