Ancient ‘stitched’ ship launched in Goa, to retrace ancient trading routes by year end

The project, which is part of an initiative to revive India’s rich maritime heritage, is being executed through a tripartite agreement between the Indian Navy, the Ministry of Culture and Goa-based shipbuilding company Hodi Innovations (OPC) Private Ltd.

Rear Admiral KM Ramakrishnan, Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area, who was the chief guest, said that after delivery, the ship will be docked at Karwar port and the Indian Navy will take up the next phase of “this grand endeavour by undertaking an ambitious trans-oceanic voyage”.

“Today is just not a launch of a vessel. It is the rekindling of a grand maritime tradition…This launch is a tribute to our ancestors who once ruled these waters, and a reaffirmation of our nation’s commitment to honoring and preserving its seafaring legacy. India’s maritime legacy stretches back thousands of years, entwined with seasonal monsoons and vastness of the Indian Ocean,” he said.

“The training of the crew for the voyage will take place in Karwar. To prepare for this, the Navy will be guided by Captain Dilip Donde (retd), India’s first solo circumnavigator,” he said.

The Rear Admiral said the revival of this ‘magnificent ship-building heritage’ was an idea of historian Sanjeev Sanyal. “He [Sanyal] has written about the existence of stitched ships in his book ‘The Ocean of Churn’.”

Sanjeev Sanyal, project leader and member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, said, “It is not a ‘launch’, in the sense that it is not complete. But the ship is being put in the water to test for leaks and structural integrity.”

“We have created an ancient hull, we don’t know how it works. We have to do more construction. We have to put the masts…It should be fully ready by May [2025]. After that we will test it, because we do not know exactly how it sails. There are many things in the ship that are not common in modern sailing ships. For instance, it does not have a rudder, it has got a training ore. It has square sails, it has a fixed hull…so, we will have to learn how to sail it and see how it reacts to various conditions. The first voyage will be to Oman, tentatively towards the end of the year,” added Sanyal.

The ship has been designed and built in Goa by Hodi Innovations Pvt Ltd, with the help of artisans and traditional shipwrights, led by Babu Sankaran, an expert in stitched ship construction. Sankaran said in the stitched method, the wooden planks are shaped using the traditional steaming method to conform to the shape of the hull. “Each plank is stitched to another using cords, ropes, sealed with a combination of coconut fiber, resin, and fish oil,” he said.

The ancient stitched ship features a main mast, mizzen mast and bowsprit mast, with steering controlled through steering oars. The vessel is bound together with coir rope and fiber. The keel is made from ‘Matti’, Goa’s state tree, while the stem, stern and beams are crafted from teak. Jackfruit wood frames have been selected to match the ship’s natural curves. The joints are sealed with a traditional mixture of fish oil and khundrus.

Prathamesh Dandekar, managing director, Hodi Innovations, said the ship stands as a living testament to India’s ancient shipbuilding expertise.

“There were unique challenges in the project. How do you design a ship that existed two thousand years ago? What raw materials were used then? How was it constructed? If I were to tell you that coconut, fish oil, some tree resin and cotton were all that it takes to make a ship that can sail the seven seas, you will probably laugh. The boat is entirely made of wood. This is a project of revitalizing our past and rebuilding something that was a norm in the past,” he said.