Six female Indian naval officers have arrived in Fremantle on their history-making journey to circumnavigate the globe in a sailing ship.
The crew was officially welcomed this morning by Tourism, Defence Issues and Citizenship and Multicultural Interests Minister Paul Papalia and Women’s Interests Minister Simone McGurk, on board the Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini.
Fremantle is the only Australian stop on the journey which began on September 10 and is expected to take eight months.
The crew arrived last week and the State Government has ensured they have enjoyed some of the best Perth and Fremantle have to offer, including Kings Park and Rottnest Island.
India is an emerging tourism market for Western Australia, particularly for those visiting friends and relatives.
In 2016-17, 27,300 Indians visited WA, 43 per cent more than the year before.
While here, they injected $86 million into the Western Australian economy – a massive 92.5 per cent increase on 2015-16.