I arrived at Khambhalia by train at dawn and took a Chhakdo Bullet rickshaw to Jam Salaya, a journey of around thirteen kilometers through roads bordered by agricultural fields. My fellow commuters were local labourers. I had come to Jam Salaya to witness the remarkable tradition of wooden shipbuilding.

Fishing, seafaring, ship construction, and farming are the primary occupations in Salaya. As I made my way to the coast, passing through the lively sabzi market, I noticed that the local languages spoken here are Kachchi and Gujarati, though many people also understand Hindi. The region continues the legacy of Asia’s Indian Ocean trade networks and is renowned for crafting vaahan, large wooden cargo vessels.

The shipyards were bustling with activity: numerous vaahan were under construction, some nearly complete and ready to set sail, others docked for repairs. The size and materials of each ship vary according to the owner’s requirements. One of the ships I saw is approximately 150 feet in length and 30–40 feet in height. Building such a ship can take anywhere from one to four years, depending on funding and the availability of resources. The ships are made primarily of wood, most of it now imported from Malaysia, especially for the keel and hull, while some is sourced locally from Gujarat. Constructing a single vessel costs around ₹20–30 crores.

The craftsmen involved in shipbuilding are not formally trained in engineering or design. Instead, each project is led by a master craftsman whose experience and intuition guide the entire process. There are no blueprints or structured plans; the measurements and calculations exist solely in the master’s mind. Most workers hail from Salaya and neighbouring regions, their skills refined through generations of maritime tradition.

Though their knowledge and expertise lie outside formal modern education, they employ traditional engineering principles to construct ships capable of carrying hundreds of tons of cargo across the sea, skillfully navigating even the most challenging tides.

Muhammad Salman is a postgraduate student at IIT Gandhinagar interested in exploring heritage, cultures, history and sustainability.