Ancient Shipbuilding Sails Again on Kaundinya’s Voyage
Indian Naval Sailing Vessel Sails to Oman, Reviving Ancient Sea Routes
Porbandar: When the Indian Naval Sailing Vessel Kaundinya set sail from Porbandar today for Muscat, Oman, the departure marked more than a naval voyage across the Arabian Sea. It signalled the revival of a maritime tradition that once bound India’s western coastline to the wider Indian Ocean world, carried forward not through archival reconstruction but through a living, ocean-going expedition.
The voyage, formally flagged off today, is the maiden overseas journey of INSV Kaundinya, the Indian Navy’s indigenously built stitched sailing vessel constructed using ancient shipbuilding techniques. The expedition retraces historic sea routes that connected India and Oman for centuries, facilitating trade, cultural exchange and sustained civilisational interaction long before the advent of modern navigation.
The vessel was flagged off by Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, in the presence of Issa Saleh Al Shibani, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to India, senior officers of the Indian Navy and invited dignitaries. Officials said the arrival of Kaundinya in Muscat is expected to serve as a symbolic reaffirmation of the enduring maritime bonds between the two nations.
INSV Kaundinya is the Indian Navy’s first operational stitched sailing vessel, built entirely using traditional techniques that predate metal fastenings. Her wooden planks are stitched together with coconut coir rope and sealed with natural resins, a method once widely used along India’s coastline and across the Indian Ocean. Historical records suggest that such vessels enabled Indian mariners to undertake long-distance ocean voyages to West Asia, Africa and Southeast Asia many centuries ago.
The project was executed under a tripartite memorandum of understanding signed in July 2023 between the Ministry of Culture, the Indian Navy and M/s Hodi Innovations, with funding from the Ministry of Culture. Construction was carried out by traditional artisans from Kerala under the guidance of master shipwright Babu Sankaran. With no surviving blueprints of ancient stitched ships, the vessel’s design was inferred from iconographic sources, including depictions of fifth-century CE ships found in the Ajanta cave paintings.
Throughout the construction process, the Indian Navy provided technical oversight, design validation and seaworthiness assessment. The hull form and rigging were recreated through close collaboration between naval architects, historians and craftsmen, and validated through hydrodynamic model testing at the Department of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras. The vessel was launched in Goa in February 2025 and formally inducted into the Indian Navy as INSV Kaundinya at a ceremony held at Karwar in May. Inducted as an Indian Naval Sailing Vessel, Kaundinya will be based at Karwar.
The ship incorporates several culturally significant features intended to evoke India’s maritime past. Her sails carry motifs of the Gandabherunda and the Sun, the bow bears a sculpted Simha Yali, and a symbolic Harappan-style stone anchor is mounted on the deck. Named after the legendary mariner Kaundinya, believed to have sailed from India to Southeast Asia in ancient times, the vessel reflects India’s long history of seafaring, trade and oceanic exploration.
The current maiden overseas voyage to Muscat is being undertaken by a crew of four officers and thirteen naval sailors. Commander Vikas Sheoran is commanding the expedition, while Commander Y Hemant Kumar, who has been associated with the project since its conceptual stage, is serving as the Officer-in-Charge. Officials said the voyage combines traditional seamanship with modern safety protocols to ensure operational reliability while preserving the vessel’s historical authenticity.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the designers, artisans, shipbuilders and the Indian Navy on the commencement of the voyage, noting that INSV Kaundinya highlights India’s rich maritime traditions. In a message shared on social media, he wished the crew a safe and memorable journey as they retrace historic links with the Gulf region and beyond.
Officials said the expedition forms part of a Ministry of Defence-led initiative to revive and showcase India’s maritime heritage through operational naval platforms. Beyond its immediate diplomatic and cultural significance, the voyage is intended to serve as a living demonstration of indigenous shipbuilding knowledge and India’s longstanding maritime outlook in the Indian Ocean region.
– global bihari bureau
