Navy inducts ‘stitched sail ship' as INSV Kaundinya

The Hindu

21-05-2025

The Indian Navy on Wednesday formally inducted and named an 'ancient stitched sail ship' as the INSV Kaundinya at a ceremonial event held at the Naval Base in Karwar. INSV Kaundinya has been built based on a 5th century ship depicted in paintings seen in the Ajanta Caves.
The project was initiated through a tripartite agreement signed in July 2023 between the Union Ministry of Culture, the Indian Navy, and Hodi Innovations, with funding from the Ministry of Culture, and is meant to showcase India's rich shipbuilding heritage.
'Following the keel laying in September 2023, the vessel's construction was undertaken using a 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 ship's hull using coir rope, coconut fibre and natural resin,' the Navy said in a statement.
The ship was launched in February 2025 at Goa.
The ship will now embark on her next historic phase, involving preparations for a transoceanic voyage along the ancient trade route from Gujarat to Oman, scheduled for later this year, the Navy said.
The Indian Navy played a central role in the project, overseeing the design, technical validation, and construction process. With no surviving blueprints or physical remnants, the design had to be extrapolated from a two-dimensional artistic iconography and the project demanded a unique interdisciplinary approach, combining archaeological interpretation, Naval architecture, hydrodynamic testing, and traditional craftsmanship, according to the Navy.
The stitched ship is equipped with square sails and steering oars, which are entirely alien to modern day ships. The hull geometry, rigging and sails had to be reimagined and tested from first principles. Indian Navy collaborated with the Department of Ocean Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, for model testing to validate the vessel's hydrodynamic behaviour at sea. In-house structural analysis to assess the wooden mast system, designed and constructed without the use of contemporary materials, was also undertaken, the Navy stated.
The newly inducted vessel incorporates several culturally significant features, the statement said. Her sails display motifs of the 'Gandabherunda' and the Sun, her bow bears a sculpted 'Simha Yali', and a symbolic Harappan-style stone anchor adorns her deck, each element evoking the rich maritime traditions of ancient India.
'Named after Kaundinya, the legendary Indian mariner who sailed across the Indian Ocean to Southeast Asia, the ship serves as a tangible symbol of India's long-standing traditions of maritime exploration, trade, and cultural exchange,' the Navy said.