Overview
- The Navy says the vessel will be flagged off from Porbandar, Gujarat, on December 29 for Muscat, Oman.
- Its hull is made with wooden planks stitched using coconut coir rope and sealed with natural resins.
- Traditional artisans led by master shipwright Babu Sankaran built the boat, which Navy and academic testing has declared seaworthy.
- The project operates under a tripartite agreement among the Ministry of Culture, the Indian Navy and Hodi Innovations.
- Named for the legendary mariner Kaundinya, the voyage will symbolically retrace historic Indian Ocean trade routes.