INSV Kaundinya, the Indian Navy’s pioneering stitched sailing vessel that revives India’s ancient shipbuilding and seafaring traditions, will undertake her maiden overseas voyage on December 29. The vessel will be flagged off from Porbandar in Gujarat and will sail to Muscat in Oman, symbolically retracing historic maritime routes that linked India with the wider Indian Ocean region for centuries.
Inspired by depictions of ancient Indian ships, INSV Kaundinya has been constructed entirely using traditional stitched-plank shipbuilding techniques. Unlike modern vessels, her wooden planks are stitched together using coconut coir rope and sealed with natural resins, reflecting an indigenous maritime technology once prevalent along India’s coastline and across the Indian Ocean.
The stitched-ship construction method historically 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 vessel has been built as part of a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Culture, the Indian Navy and M/s Hodi Innovations, aimed at reviving and preserving India’s indigenous knowledge systems. Traditional artisans constructed the ship under the guidance of master shipwright Babu Sankaran, with extensive research, design validation and testing support provided by the Indian Navy and academic institutions.
Named after the legendary mariner Kaundinya, believed to have sailed from India to Southeast Asia in ancient times, the vessel underscores India’s long-standing maritime heritage and historical role as a seafaring nation.
The Indian Navy said the project represents a unique convergence of historical craftsmanship and modern naval expertise, and demonstrates India’s commitment to preserving its maritime legacy while promoting cultural and naval diplomacy.
