Overview

• India’s Defence and Culture ministries signed an MoU formalizing the Stitched Ship Project centered on INSV Kaundinya, according to an official post.
• The Indian Navy will handle maintenance, operations, crew manning and voyage planning for the vessel as part of the agreement.
• INSV Kaundinya is a traditional wooden sailing craft built without welding or riveting, using an indigenous stitched-ship method described in reports as about 2,000 years old.
• The ship is scheduled to sail to Oman later in 2025 to retrace ancient trade and cultural routes across the Indian Ocean.
• Separately, INS Satpura reached Colombo for professional exchanges with the Sri Lanka Navy, with the commanding officer meeting Rear Admiral SJ Kumara to discuss deeper cooperation.