Indian Navy Considering Inducting Women Sailors On Board

The Indian Navy will now commission a study to consider ways for inducting women sailors on board ships, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said Monday, according to reports.

All new ships under construction being made to accommodate women sailors on board

Last month, in what can be termed as a breakthrough move, the Ministry of Defence decided to induct women as sailors in the Indian Navy. The Women Navy officers are currently not permitted on ships. They are posted ashore on duties.

While addressing the media on the eve of Navy Day, Lanba mentioned that the Navy is a gender-neutral service. “We are going to set up a study, which is going to examine this issue. And based on the outcomes of this study, we will decide what needs to be done,” he said.

Once we have our training ships, which can accommodate and have facilities for our women officers, we will take women officers and put them at sea. - Admiral Sunil Lanba

There are over 639 women personnel in the Navy. The number includes over a hundred medical officers. At present, women are deployed in different branches of the Navy, but are not sent to sea. They currently work as observers in Navy’s IL-38 and P-8i reconnaissance aircraft.

Making an important point, Lanba mentioned they need to start training women to go to the sea. He said all new ships under construction will accommodate women officers on board. He spoke about the Kolkata-class ships, which have such onboard facilities for women force.

Recently, a six-member women crew of the INSV Tarini successfully circumnavigated the globe. Tarini’s all-woman crew began the voyage in September 2017. They arrived in Panaji, Goa, on May 21, 2018, after successfully circumnavigating the globe. They also set a record by becoming the first-ever all-women crew to complete circumnavigation. These women faced some extremely challenging situations during the expedition.

Also Read: Indian Navy Looking To Start Inducting Women As Sailors

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