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 29 Dec 2025. The vessel will be flagged off from Porbandar, Gujarat, for Muscat, Oman, symbolically retracing the historic maritime routes that connected India with the wider Indian Ocean world for millennia.

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

(https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2130294®=3&lang=2)

The project was undertaken through a tripartite MoU between Ministry of Culture, Indian Navy and M/s Hodi Innovations as part of India’s efforts to rediscover and revive indigenous knowledge systems. Built by traditional artisans under the guidance of master shipwright Shri Babu Sankaran and supported by extensive research, design and testing by the Indian Navy and academic institutions, the vessel is fully seaworthy and capable of oceanic navigation.

Named after the legendary mariner Kaundinya, who is believed to have sailed from India to Southeast Asia in ancient times, the ship embodies India’s historic role as a maritime nation.