Panaji: A naval pilot is embarking on an ambitious expedition to circumnavigate the world non-stop in a specially-built ship.
If Lieutenant Commander Abhishek Tommy pulls off the adventure, he would become first Indian and the second Asian after Minoru Saito from Japan, to accomplish such mission.
Tommy will set sail from Mumbai on November 1 and is expected to take six months to circumnavigate the globe in his indigenously built vessel INSV Mhadei.
The expedition labelled as `Sagar Parikrama II` is a sequel to `Sagar Parikrama I` completed successfully by Commander Dilip Dhonde who had travelled 23,400 nautical miles for 165 days.
"This would be uninterrupted journey," Tommy told PTI at Verem Naval jetty near here.
As a naval pilot, Tommy had provided the shore support in Dornier aircraft to commander Dhonde during `Sagar Parikrama I`.
Tommy will be carrying foodstock that is expected to last for about a year.
Mysore-based Defence Food Research Laboratory has produced the food provision that can last for months together without refrigeration facility for the second edition of the ambitious expedition.
The officer will be carrying gadgets that will give him access to satellite Internet, satellite telephony and access to email.
Terming his mission the "biggest adventure for any human being," Tommy said so far only 80 people have circumvented the globe non-stop.
"There are only 80 people who have circumvented the globe non-stop, while 180 people have made it with stops..500 people have gone into space and 5,000 on Mount Everest," he added.
PTI
