A moment of pride as two young women officers of the Indian Navy crossed the point Nemo which is the most remote location on Earth, this Thursday. They reached the Point Nemo located in the Southern Pacific as a part of their efforts in order to circumnavigate the globe in a sailboat.
As per the Indian Navy, the two women officers named Lieutenant commander Dilna K and Lieutenant commander Roopa A were onboard INSV Tarini successfully passing through the Point Nemo at 0030 hours on January 30, 2025. They sailed from Lyttelton, New Zealand to Port Stanley in Falkland Islands during the third leg of Navika Sagar Parikrama II.
Point Nemo is situated approximately 2,688 km from the nearest landmass. The point is completely isolated and is famous for its ext6reme remoteness. The closest human presence to it is only onboard the International Space Station orbiting above.
The navy officers have collected water samples from Point Nemo which will be analysed later on by the scientists of the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa. The samples will most likely provide more detailed insights into oceanic conditions which includes presence of marine biodiversity and chemical composition along the Point Nemo. This will contribute to the Global Oceanographic research.
In 1999, a Spanish vessel Hesperides was the first ship to sail the Point Nemo. After this not many vessels have passed through the location. ISNV Tarini was capable of passing the point purely on sail.
Point Nemo is known as the oceanic pole of inaccessibility and as the most remote location on the Earth. It serves as the decommissioned spacecraft cemetery. The space agencies defunct satellites and space stations to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere and fall into the ocean, this doesn’t cause any harm to the inhabited spaces with human populations.
On October 2, the two brave Lieutenant commanders Dilna and Roopa began their voyage from Goa. For over 8 months, they are going to negotiate over ‘roaring forties’, ‘furious fifties’ and ‘screaming sixties’ before commencing their journey back to Goa in May 2025.
This is the second all women navigation attempt by the Indian Navy, the first one was conducted seven years ago. It was then a six-member crew onboard the INSV Tarini, it is the same sail vessel being used in this mission.