The Indian Navy's traditional stitched sailing vessel, INSV Kaundinya, completed its maiden voyage from Gujarat to Muscat, Oman. Hailed as a revival of India's maritime legacy, the ship is based on a 5th-century vessel from Ajanta caves.
The Indian Navy's indigenously built traditional stitched sailing vessel, INSV Kaundinya, was given a water salute as it completed its voyage from Gujarat's Porbandar to Oman's Muscat on Wednesday.
A revival of India's maritime legacy
As the vessel completed her voyage to Muscat from Gujarat, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal hailed the mission, calling the ship "a shining example" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's effort to revive India's maritime legacy.
Speaking on the significance of the voyage, Sonowal said, "INSV Kaundinya is a shining example of PM Modi's visionary leadership. It was his resolve to revive India's ancient shipbuilding genius and present it proudly before the world."
Emphasising the cultural and historical symbolism of the vessel, the Union Minister added, "This ship represents the timeless strength of our maritime heritage marked by skill and enduring innovation."
Highlighting the inspiration behind the vessel's design and identity, Sonowal said, "The ship draws inspiration from a 5th-century vessel depicted in the Ajanta cave, and it is named after legendary sailor Kaundinya."
The Voyage and Crew
The ship had departed from Gujarat's Porbandar on December 29, 2025. Skippered by Commander Vikas Sheoran, with Commander Y Hemant Kumar, who has been associated with the project since its conceptualisation, serving as the Officer-in-Charge of the expedition, the crew comprises four officers and thirteen naval sailors. Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council member Sanjeev Sanyal, who was part of the crew, shared daily updates about the ship on social media.
Reviving Ancient Shipbuilding Techniques
INSV Kaundinya is a stitched sail ship, based on a 5th-century CE ship depicted in the paintings of Ajanta Caves. The project was initiated through a tripartite agreement signed in Jul 2023 between the Ministry of Culture, the Indian Navy, and M/s Hodi Innovations, with funding from the Ministry of Culture.
Traditional Construction Method
Following the keel laying in September 2023, the vessel's construction was undertaken using a traditional method of stitching by a team of skilled artisans from Kerala, led by master shipwright Babu Sankaran. Over several months, the team painstakingly stitched wooden planks on the ship's hull using coir rope, coconut fiber, and natural resin. The ship was launched in February 2025 at Goa.
Design and Validation
The Indian Navy played a central role in the project, overseeing the design, technical validation, and construction process. With no surviving blueprints of such vessels, the design had to be inferred from iconographic sources. The Navy collaborated with the shipbuilder to recreate the hull form and traditional rigging and ensured that the design was validated through hydrodynamic model testing at the Department of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras, and internal technical assessment.
Symbolism and Cultural Significance
The newly inducted vessel incorporates several culturally significant features. Her sails display motifs of the Gandabherunda and the Sun, her bow bears a sculpted Simha Yali, and a symbolic Harappan-style stone anchor adorns her deck, each element evoking the rich maritime traditions of ancient India.
Named after Kaundinya, the legendary Indian mariner who sailed across the Indian Ocean to Southeast Asia, the ship serves as a tangible symbol of India's long-standing traditions of maritime exploration, trade, and cultural exchange.
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