Indian Navy’s pioneering stitched sailing vessel, INSV Kaundinya, will undertake her maiden overseas voyage on December 29, 2025, marking a major milestone in reviving India’s ancient shipbuilding and seafaring traditions. The vessel will be flagged off from Porbandar, Gujarat, bound for Muscat, Oman, symbolically retracing historic maritime routes that linked India with the wider Indian Ocean world for centuries.

Inspired by depictions of ancient Indian ships and constructed entirely using traditional stitched-plank techniques, INSV Kaundinya represents a unique blend of history, craftsmanship, and modern naval expertise. Unlike contemporary vessels, her wooden planks are stitched together with coconut coir rope and sealed using natural resins—a shipbuilding technology once widely practiced along India’s coastline and across the Indian Ocean. This method enabled Indian mariners to undertake long-distance voyages to West Asia, Africa, and Southeast Asia well before the advent of modern navigation and metallurgy.

The project was executed under a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Culture, the Indian Navy, and Hodi Innovations, as part of India’s broader effort to rediscover and revive indigenous knowledge systems. The vessel was built by traditional artisans under the guidance of Babu Sankaran, supported by extensive research, design, and testing by the Indian Navy and academic institutions. The ship is fully seaworthy and capable of oceanic navigation.

Named after the legendary mariner Kaundinya, believed to have sailed from India to Southeast Asia in ancient times, INSV Kaundinya stands as a powerful symbol of India’s enduring maritime heritage and civilisational links across the Indian Ocean.