Overview
- The Indian Naval sailing vessel completed the Porbandar–Muscat passage, received a water salute at Port Sultan Qaboos, and was welcomed by Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal alongside senior Omani officials.
- The expedition departed on December 29, 2025 and retraced historic trade routes that long connected India’s west coast with Oman.
- Commander Vikas Sheoran led a crew of four officers and 13 sailors, with project officer-in-charge Commander Y Hemant Kumar and historian Sanjeev Sanyal aboard.
- Built under a 2023 agreement between the Culture Ministry, the Indian Navy and Hodi Innovations, the 65-foot vessel was hand-stitched by Kerala artisans using coir rope, coconut fibre and natural resins under master shipwright Babu Sankaran.
- The Navy supervised design and seaworthiness checks, including hydrodynamic model testing at IIT Madras, and the ship will undergo underwater inspections before a planned return sail to Karwar in the coming weeks.