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Seen from the sea, Oman feels different. The coast, the harbours, the light - all of it carries a certain stillness. It is not a place that demands attention, but one that draws you in quietly and stays long after you’ve left.

Two 21-foot Seabirds with open cockpits departed Mumbai for Muscat, 850 nautical miles across the Arabian Sea. No GPS. No cabin. Navigation by sextant. What followed was 15 days of flat calms, 30-foot waves, and the deadly Shamal winds that claimed 15-20 fishermen during the same period. This is Cyrus Heerjee's first-person account of the voyage, written in April 1986, that proved small boats, meticulous planning, and traditional seamanship could conquer the Arabian Sea.

A son writes to his father on the night he retires from the Indian Navy, reflecting on a life shaped by service, discipline, and example.

A request for an ETA, sent somewhere off Cape Horn, met a sailor’s quiet refusal. What followed was a voyage measured not in dates, but in oceans, winds, and a string of improbable coincidences.

Picture from Indian Express As a trillion-dollar economy and on its way to becoming the third-largest economy, India’s share of maritime and coastal development remains abysmal compared to the other economic giants. Despite having a 11,098.81 km coastline, India holds less than 1% shipbuilding share and around 1.2% of ship ownership and ranks as the 16 th largest maritime nation globally. India also holds 30% of global shipbreaking market share, ranking as the third-largest

“Jungee Sails into Valhalla” reflects on the life and service of Commodore I.J. Sharma, a naval officer whose career spanned defining chapters of the Indian Navy’s post-Independence evolution. First carried in Quarterdeck 2025, this tribute revisits his leadership, professional ethos, and enduring contribution to India’s maritime legacy.

From the dockyards of the Indus Valley to the Indian Navy’s International Fleet Review 2016, this article traces India’s enduring maritime legacy across trade, knowledge, and naval engagement. A historical journey through oceans that have long connected India to the wider world, shaping cooperation from ancient seafarers to modern navies.

(Authors' Note: As the Indian Navy prepares to host the International Fleet Review 2026 at Visakhapatnam, Meluha Maritime is publishing a series of articles that highlight the maritime heritage and strategic significance of India’s eastern seaboard. In this context, we are pleased to republish the article, first written in 2015 by Cmde Srikant Kesnur and Cmde Sushil Das . The article examines eastern India’s long and often overlooked engagement with the sea, spanning trade,

The International Fleet Review 2016 marked one of the largest maritime gatherings ever hosted by India — bringing together navies, ideas, and traditions from across the world. Beyond the spectacle of ships and ceremony, IFR reflected India’s enduring maritime outlook: building bridges of friendship across oceans while shaping cooperative responses to shared global challenges.

A gripping wartime narrative from December 1971, recounting Captain Vidyadhar K. Gaikwad’s daring nocturnal escape from the river-bound port of Mongla (East Pakistan) under blackout conditions. Without navigational aids and with enemy wires blocking the channel, he and his crew skilfully navigated a nearly 40-nautical-mile river passage to reach open sea and safety, eventually contacting the Indian Navy for escort. It’s a story of seamanship, resolve, and survival against mou

Opening with a stirring poem evoking the sacrifices of Indian soldiers across distant lands, this piece reflects on the life and service of Major Govind Rao Rangnekar. By weaving personal history with the broader tapestry of Indian martial tradition, it situates his contributions within the larger narrative of Indian military service.

Despite the Indian Navy’s dramatic legacy, from the 1971 war’s bold operations to everyday naval life, cinema has largely overlooked it. This article explores why the Navy remains under-represented on Indian screens, how cinematic tropes and industry conventions shape portrayals of the armed forces, and what naval stories might offer richer, more authentic narratives for film.

This analysis revisits the 1971 war’s lesser-known Operation Python, arguing that its impact rivalled that of the famous Operation Trident. By contextualising Python’s tactical significance, operational challenges, and strategic outcomes, the article broadens understanding of how India’s navy executed multifaceted campaigns during the conflict.

A deeply personal tribute to the author’s father, a Chief Electrical Artificer who served in the Indian Navy and later an officer at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, this piece reflects on his journey from recruit to mentor, and how his naval experiences shaped a life of service both at sea and ashore. It honours the often-unseen contributions of everyday sailors to India’s maritime story.

A rich, multi-generational exploration of the Bakhshi family’s unique naval legacy. Beginning with Lieutenant Commander V. P. Bakhshi, a pioneering figure in Indian naval diving, the article traces how his daughters, the Bakhshi sisters, each forged their own paths while maintaining deep ties to naval life. The narrative offers insight into family, tradition, and service values rooted in maritime culture.

In naval routines, “Action Messing” once meant meal distribution at action stations, a practical way to keep crews fed under heightened readiness. Over time, however, this simple drill became tangled in over-engineered sequences that obscured its original purpose. Through personal experience and reflection, Commodore Srikant Kesnur argues for returning action messing to its core objective: ensuring crew sustenance while enabling combat readiness, not turning it into bureaucra

In naval parlance, “November November Three” signalled the successful completion of a task. This piece unfolds around the retirement of two distinguished officers from the 68th NDA course, Vice Admiral SJ Singh and Commodore Hemant Khatri. Through the lens of longstanding friendship and shared service, Cmde Kesnur reflects on camaraderie, professional excellence, and the quiet dignity with which these leaders concluded their careers, a personal yet universal tribute to servic

The commissioning of INS Tamal in Kaliningrad, named for Indra’s sword, marked a symbolic inflection point in Indian naval history: the transition from a buyer’s Navy to a builder’s Navy. From the author’s own journey alongside the service to the pacing of indigenous shipbuilding, Tamal becomes a lens to view broader transformation, one that spans generations, shipyards, and the evolution of India’s maritime self-reliance.