Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday flagged off an all-woman crew of sailors, the first in the history of the Indian Navy, trying to circumnavigate the globe from Goa.

The six-member crew will travel on the Indian Naval Sailing Vessel Tarini and are expected to return to Goa in April 2018 after completing the expedition named Navika Sagar Parikrama. The expedition will be covered in five legs, and have stop-overs at four ports – Fremantle in Australia, Lyttleton in New Zealand, Port Stanley in Falklands, and Cape Town in South Africa, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Sitharaman said this was a historic day for India, and that this will be marked in the history of navigation in the world. “Globally, our women are going to stand out for something that most navies of the world would not have even thought of”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his congratulations and best wishes to the crew.