INSV Kaundinya, a recreation of a 5th-century Indian ship using the ancient stitching technique, has embarked on her maiden voyage from Porbandar in the western Indian state of Gujarat to Muscat.
The flag-off ceremony was held on December 29.
Depending on the weather and sailing conditions, the ship will arrive in the Sultanate of Oman anytime between January 10 and 17.
Subject to mandatory approvals, the ship will be available for public visit for a couple of days, with a maximum of about 500 people allowed per day, according to sources in the Indian Embassy.
Built using the ancient Indian stitched-ship technique, this ship highlights India's rich maritime traditions as it tries to retrace our historic links with the Gulf region and beyond. It is now part of the Indian Navy fleet.
Background
The legendary voyage of Kaundinya, dated to around the 1st century CE, must be understood within the broader framework of the Indian Ocean maritime network, in which the western coast of India and the Omani–Arab seaboard played a pivotal role. Kaundinya’s sea crossing reflects a well-established tradition of Indian blue-water navigation that connected India with Arabia, East Africa, and Southeast Asia centuries before the rise of European maritime powers.
By this period, Oman’s ports — notably Muscat, Suhar, and Sur — were already integral nodes in the Indian Ocean trading system. Omani and Arab sailors were masters of monsoon-driven navigation, a knowledge system shared with Indian mariners from Gujarat, Konkan, Kerala, and the Coromandel Coast. Ships similar to those associated with Kaundinya would have followed these seasonal wind patterns, enabling long-distance voyages across the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
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