MILITARY

Shri Sanjay Seth encourages youth to embrace adventure & innovation rooted in civilisational confidence.

New Delhi: Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Sanjay Seth, on March 02, 2026, flagged-in to Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Kaundinya, a traditionally constructed stitched sailing vessel of the Indian Navy, which has returned home after the successful completion of her historic maiden overseas voyage to Muscat, Oman. Addressing the gathering, Raksha Rajya Mantri highlighted the national significance of the project, stating that INSV Kaundinya represented the revival of India’s ancient maritime knowledge systems and would serve as an inspiration to the youth of the country. He underscored the courage, resilience, and the spirit of rediscovery reflected by the voyage, encouraging young Indians to embrace adventure and innovation rooted in civilisational confidence.

Speaking on the occasion, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan commended the crew for their extraordinary dedication and professionalism in sailing a traditionally constructed stitched vessel across the Arabian Sea. He underscored the immense hard work involved from conceptualisation and research to design, traditional construction, crew training and execution of the voyage.

Operating a square-sailed, stitched wooden vessel without modern structural reinforcements required exceptional planning, seamanship, teamwork, and endurance, making the successful completion of the expedition a remarkable achievement for the Indian Navy.

As INSV Kaundinya made her ceremonial entry, she was welcomed with a colourful parade of sails and a traditional water arc salute, creating a spectacular and emotionally charged atmosphere in the harbour. The event symbolised both pride in India’s maritime heritage and admiration for the crew’s accomplishment.

Consul General of the Sultanate of Oman Mr Mahboob Issa Alraisi in Mumbai, senior officers, veterans, representatives from Hodi Innovations, eminent members of civil society, members of the maritime community, historians and sailing enthusiasts were present on the occasion.

INSV Kaundinya is a 20-metre, traditionally constructed stitched sailing vessel of the Indian Navy, inspired by a 5th century CE depiction from the Ajanta Caves. Built using ancient Indian shipbuilding techniques in which wooden planks are stitched together with coir rope and sealed with natural resins, the vessel represents a revival of India’s rich maritime heritage. Inducted into the Navy in May 2025 and named after the legendary mariner Kaundinya, she symbolises India’s historic seafaring traditions and civilisational linkages across the Indian Ocean.

New Delhi: The 5th Edition of the Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC-26) was successfully conducted at Naval War College, Goa on 21 Feb 2026, bringing together Chiefs of Navies and senior maritime leaders from 15 Indian Ocean Region nations. The Conclave reaffirmed the collective commitment of regional partners to strengthen cooperative mechanisms aimed at addressing common maritime security challenges in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Organised by the Indian Navy under the overarching theme of “Common Maritime Security Challenges in the IOR – Progressing Lines of Efforts (LsOE) to Mitigate Dynamic Threats”, GMC-26 underscored India’s continued role as a convenor of structured maritime dialogue and an enabler of collaborative security architecture in the region. Conducted in consonance with the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘ MAHASAGAR – Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions’, the conclave provided a structured platform for deliberations focused on actionable outcomes and collaborative implementation frameworks.

In his Keynote address, Admiral Arun Prakash, (Retd), former Chief of Naval Staff, highlighted that the evolving maritime security environment demands synchronised regional responses anchored in real-time information exchanges, institutionalised coordination mechanisms and sustained capacity development.

He emphasised that addressing challenges such as Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, trafficking networks and other transnational maritime crimes requires collective ownership and shared responsibility among IOR nations.

The first session moderated by Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, (Retd), former National Maritime Security Coordinator, focused on enhancing mechanisms for real-time exchanges of maritime information and operational coordination to counter IUU fishing, drug trafficking and other illegal maritime activities.

The speakers in this session were Rear Admiral TVN Prasanna, of the Indian Navy and Colonel Amanulla Ahmed Rasheed from Maldives. Issues of trans-national significance like strengthening maritime domain awareness networks, interoperability of information-sharing systems and the need for structured institutional linkages to enable rapid and coordinated responses across jurisdictions were highlighted by the speakers.

The second session examined collaborative pathways for capacity building and capability enhancement among maritime agencies of the IOR. Rear Admiral Srinivas Maddula, and Captain (IN) Ranendra S Sawan, Senior Fellow, National Maritime Foundation, shared their insights, with Admiral Karambir Singh, (Retd), former Chief of the Naval Staff and Chairman, National Maritime Foundation, moderating the session.

The ensuing deliberations highlighted the importance of pooling regional training resources, expanding professional exchange programmes and strengthening institutional frameworks to ensure long-term maritime resilience. The session reinforced the understanding that sustainable maritime stability in the IOR is contingent upon coordinated capability development and structured cooperation.