Lieutenant Commander Prerana Pravin Deosthalee will lead an all-male crew.
She is currently the first lieutenant on board the INS Chennai, the missile destroyer that rescued a foreign merchant ship hijacked by pirates off Somalia last week.
When Lieutenant Commander Prerana Pravin Deosthalee takes command of the INS Trinkat in March, she will be the first woman to lead the all-male 33 crew members of the Waterjet Fast Attack Craft used in anti-poaching, surveillance and counter-insurgency operations.
Though there are 33 women officers serving on board warships and 748 women officers in the Indian Navy, Lieutenant Commander Deosthalee is the first woman to command an Indian naval vessel.
The Indian Armed Forces started inducting women officers in 1992. Previously the military was only open to women in the education and medical streams.
Lieutenant Commander Deosthalee will be in overall control of the Trinkat and responsible for everything that takes place on board.
The buck, literally, stops with her.
The mother of a four-year-old girl, the officer's husband is an engineer serving in the Indian Navy.
Her brother too is an officer in the Indian Navy.
Lieutenant Commander Deosthalee joined the navy in 2009 after graduating in psychology from Mumbai, ranking third in the University of Mumbai; she also has an MA from Kolhapur.
The daughter of a psychologist father who passed away in 2012, her mother is a retired chief financial officer, Mumbai Port Trust.
The officer grew up close to the sea in south Mumbai's Colaba area and was a NCC naval cadet in her college days. She participated in the NCC sailing camps in Goa and Chilka lake, Odisha.
Her first foray into the sea during the regatta in Goa was a tough one. The sailboat toppled thrice, throwing her into the water, but the experience enabled her to overcome her fear of the water.
The next camp in Chilka was a game-changer. She and her partner caught the wind in the sail and won gold at the event.
After that there was no turning back.
While she was pursuing a MA degree in Kolhapur, the Indian Navy opened the post of observer for the first time for women. Motivated by her father, she appeared for the entrance test and passed. She was commissioned as a naval officer at the passing out parade at the naval academy in Ezhimala in 2009.
Her initial posting was at Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu where she trained as an observer on Tupolev TU maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
Observers are responsible for aircraft equipment like sensors, radars, sonars and communication. They also coordinate with other ships and aircraft.
Lieutenant Commander Desothalee also has the distinction of being the first woman navigational instructor in the Indian Navy.
As a young officer, she was awarded the Indian Navy Videsh Seva Medal three years after commissioning for being part of the TU-142 aircraft that responded to an SOS from a Chinese merchant ship that was attacked by Somalian pirates in the Indian Ocean.
She was part of the aircraft crew which provided assistance to the besieged ship as other Indian warships headed to aid and rescue.
Currently, she is first lieutenant on the INS Chennai, the missile destroyer that rescued the crew of the cargo ship MV Lila Norfolk after an attack by pirates off the coast of Somalia in the first week of January.
The officer has also represented the naval contingent at the Republic Day parade.
In a few weeks when she takes command of her warship, she will set course in unchartered waters for women, but will lead the way for many more to follow.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
