'Land Ahoy!': Indian Navy's stitched sailing ship 'INSV Kaundinya' reaches Oman port after historic 18-day voyage

The INSV Kaundinya (MMSI: 419002029), an Indian-flagged stitched sailing vessel, on Wednesday reached Oman's Port Sultan Qaboos, completing a historic 18-day voyage from Gujarat's Porbandar.

“Land Ahoy! Muscat Sighted! Good Morning India; Good morning Oman," wrote Expedition In-charge, Hemanth Kumar in an X post earlier today, when the port was visible.

"We did it!!!" wrote Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, who also celebrated the end of the voyage with an X post alongside Kumar and Skipper Vikas Sheoran. Sanyal's X account is filled with past updates of the ship's journey.

Inspired by depictions of ancient Indian ships in the Ajanta Caves and constructed entirely using traditional stitched-plank techniques, the point behind this 5th-century-style Indian Navy vessel is to retrace the historic maritime routes that connected India with the rest of the world.

Named after the legendary seafarer Kaundinya, who is believed to have sailed eastwards from India in ancient times, this heritage shipping project was undertaken through a tripartite MoU between the Ministry of Culture, the Indian Navy and Hodi Innovations, a Goa-based private boat builder.

The idea for a heritage project of this scale arose in December 2021, when the Sanyal and the Indian Navy discussed the idea. 

Over a period of two years, they managed to get funding via a tripartite contract in July 2023, after which the ship's keel-laying ceremony took place in September that year—officially starting construction.

Two more years later, the INSV Kaundinya was finally made seaworthy, and had begun its maiden voyage to Oman on December 29, 2025.