COLOMBO – Sail Training Ship INS Tarangini of the Indian Navy is set to visit Trincomalee and Colombo later this week as part of a training and goodwill mission aimed at strengthening maritime cooperation with Sri Lanka.
The vessel will be in Trincomalee from February 27 to March 2 and in Colombo from March 6 to 9. During the visit, Sri Lanka Navy trainee officers will embark on the ship for ocean sailing training during both harbour and sea phases.
The ship, commanded by Commander Nitin Gajjar, is on its return passage from Visakhapatnam after participating in the International Fleet Review 2026.
The Indian Navy is among the few navies globally that continue to operate sail training ships in the modern era. Designed by renowned yacht designer Colin Mudie and built indigenously at Goa Shipyard Limited, INS Tarangini has a 54-metre overall length and displaces around 500 tonnes. The three-masted barque carries 20 sails with a combined sail area exceeding 10,000 square feet and more than 200 ropes stretching over 20 kilometres if laid out.
INS Tarangini is part of the First Training Squadron based in Kochi and primarily provides sail training to officer cadets of the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard. The ship’s crew comprises seven officers and 30 sailors and can accommodate up to 30 cadets at a time.
The name ‘Tarangini’ is derived from the Hindi word ‘Tarang’, meaning waves, signifying ‘the one that rides the waves’.
The vessel became the first Indian naval ship to circumnavigate the globe in 2004, covering 35,000 nautical miles and visiting 37 ports in 18 countries. In 2008, she retraced ancient Indian maritime routes to Southeast Asia, including Jakarta, Singapore and Phuket, underscoring India’s seafaring heritage.
During the Trincomalee port call, three officers and 25 trainee officers from the Sri Lanka Navy will embark the vessel for ocean sailing training en route to Colombo. The initiative forms part of the Indian Navy’s efforts to build ‘Bridges of Friendship’ through maritime engagement and professional exchanges.
-ENCL
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