From Goa to Oman using ancestral methods.

[Pedro Mascarenhas]

The Indian Navy's hand-stitched wooden sailing ship, INSV Kaundinya, arrived in Oman on Wednesday, being greeted with a water baptism after completing 17 days at sea. Named after the legendary Indian sailor Kaundinya.

Construction of the ship began in September 2023 and it was launched in February 2025, in the state of Goa.

The ship departed from Porbandar, on India's west coast, on December 29, 2025, and arrived in Muscat, retracing the ancient sea route that linked India with the rest of the world for millennia.

The voyage of the traditionally constructed, hand-stitched sailing ship highlights the deep maritime, cultural, and civilizational ties between the two nations, which extend for more than 5,000 years. It also underscores the role of the oceans as connecting corridors that have enabled continuous interaction between India and Oman throughout the centuries. The wooden planks were sewn together with coconut fiber rope and sealed with natural resin. The ship has no engine and moves with square sails, aided by favorable winds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTvTIcQp-Dw

Many millennia before the arrival of Europeans in the Indian Ocean.

[Nuno Cardoso da Silva]

Dear Pedro,

 

"INSV Kaundinya is an Indian navy sailing vessel constructed using sewn ship technique. Her design is based on a 5th century CE merchant ship depicted in the murals of cave 17 of Ajanta Caves complex."

 

INSV Kaundinya - Wikipedia

 

"Many millennia before the arrival of Europeans in the Indian Ocean"???... Many millennia?...

 

But she is a beautiful ship, even if not as old as you would have liked...

 

Sincerely

 

Nuno

 

 

Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 10:26 AM
From: "'Pedro Mascarenhas' via Goa-Research-Net" <goa-rese...@googlegroups.com>
To: goa-rese...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [GRN] From Goa to Oman using ancestral methods.

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[Pedro Mascarenhas]

Dear Nuno,

I think you didn't pay enough attention to what you read.

Read: INSV Kaundinya is an Indian navy sailing vessels built using ship-to-ship techniques. Its design is BASED on a 5th-century CE merchant ship DEPICTED IN THE MURALS OF CAVE 17 OF AJANTA CAVES COMPLEX.

The detail is here: DEPICTED IN THE MURALS OF CAVE 17 OF AJANTA CAVES COMPLEX.

The ship DEPICTED IN THE MURALS is a representation of what had already been built in previous centuries, including those of the 5th century CE.

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (3000-1500 BC): A sophisticated maritime network emerged, with ports such as Lothal (in India), which maintained direct trade with Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf, USING BOATS TO TRANSPORT GOODS across the Arabian Sea.

Socotra (Yemen) and ports in Oman and the Persian Gulf were vital stops, with direct routes to India also established from Yemen.

Conclusion: Boats were being built for commercial purposes AS EARLY AS 3000 BC.

Have you read William Dalrymple's book, titled The Golden Road?

I visited Ajanta and Ellora twice from Aurangabad.

Regards.

 

 

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