Porbandar: INSV Kaundinya, the Indian Navy’s handcrafted stitched sailing vessel that revives India’s ancient shipbuilding and seafaring traditions, was flagged off from Porbandar today as it set sail on its maiden overseas voyage. The vessel will sail to Muscat in Oman, covering around 1,500 km (750 nautical miles), retracing a 2,000-year-old historic maritime route that connected India with the wider Indian Ocean region for centuries.

The maiden voyage of the vessel will be approximately 15 days long, with 19 sailors on board. The ship is 65 feet long, 22 feet wide, 13 feet high, and weighs 50 tonnes. During the flag-off ceremony held at the Indian Coast Guard Jetty in Porbandar, Issa Saleh Abdullah Al Shibani, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to India, was present as the Guest of Honour.

INSV Kaundinya is a stitched-sail vessel based on a 5th-century CE ship depicted in the paintings of the Ajanta Caves. The project was initiated through a tripartite agreement signed in July 2023 between the Ministry of Culture, the Indian Navy, and M/s Hodi Innovations, with funding provided by the Ministry of Culture.

Following the keel-laying in September 2023, the vessel was constructed using the 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 hull using coir rope, coconut fibre, and natural resin.

The ship was launched in February 2025 in Goa and was subsequently inducted into the Indian Navy in May this year.

Named after the legendary mariner Kaundinya, who is believed to have sailed from India to Southeast Asia in ancient times, the vessel symbolises India’s historic maritime legacy and its enduring engagement with the Indian Ocean world. DeshGujarat