Lt CDR VARTIKA JOSHI, NM

Lieutenant Commander, Indian Navy

Lt. Cdr. Vartika Joshi sailed into history as the first Indian woman to lead an all women crew in a daring expedition to sail around the world. She joined the Indian Navy as a Naval Architect in 2010. A graduate in Aerospace Engineering followed by a specialized post graduate diploma in Naval Construction at IIT, Delhi, she worked on the design of the nuclear submarine Arihant while posted in Vishakhapatnam. Her passion for the oceans took her on several sea voyages including a transatlantic expedition from Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town in 2014 .The following year Vartika began intensive training for the arduous all-women circumnavigation of the globe following which she was appointed as the first skipper of the INSV Mhadei on 08 Feb 2016. She lead her team comprising of five other female officers and sailed INSV Mhadei and subsequently the sister vessel Tarini for over 20000 nautical miles before embarking on the first ever circumnavigation of the globe by an all women Indian crew as part of the country’s Nari Shakti mission. She was awarded the Chief of Naval Staff Commendations in 2014 and 2016 for being the first woman officer to undergo a gruelling transatlantic voyage and successfully leading an all female crew during their first ever independent open ocean voyage from Goa to Mauritius and back respectively.​