Odisha State Maritime Museum

The Odisha State Maritime Museum is a maritime heritage museum located at Jobra on the banks of the Mahanadi River in Cuttack, Odisha. Housed in the restored 1869 Jobra Workshop built during construction of the Jobra Anicut, it was inaugurated in 2013. The museum showcases Odisha's ancient maritime history, Kalinga trade, Boita vessels, navigation techniques, and industrial heritage through galleries, artifacts, models and preserved workshop machinery.

Visitors can explore indoor galleries displaying ancient navigation tools, maritime instruments, models of Boitas and ships, photographs and artifacts related to Odisha's seafaring history, and outdoor exhibits of preserved machinery from the historic Jobra Workshop. The complex on the Mahanadi riverfront includes an aquarium, open-air displays, and restored workshop sheds. The setting is educational and family-friendly with walk-through galleries and interpretive panels.

The museum is housed in the historic Jobra Workshop established in 1869 for the construction of the Jobra Anicut across the Mahanadi River during British administration. The workshop served as a major industrial facility for over a century. It was conserved and converted into the Odisha State Maritime Museum, inaugurated in 2013, to preserve and showcase Odisha's maritime and industrial heritage.

The museum highlights Odisha's ancient maritime tradition as Kalinga, known for overseas trade to Southeast Asia, celebrated in traditions such as Boita Bandana and Bali Jatra. Exhibits explain boat-building, navigation and trade links that shaped the cultural identity of coastal Odisha.