Vice President - Marine & Offshore Middle East & Africa, ABS
Capt. Dheeraj Sharma is the Vice President of ABS, for the Middle East and Africa and is based in Dubai.
Dheeraj joined ABS in early 2022. Prior to this, Dheeraj spent almost a decade at the United Arab Chemical Carriers (UACC) as their General Manger/Owners Representative at their head office in Dubai overseeing the daily running of the 26 tankers and office teams in Singapore, Mumbai & Hongkong. Before coming ashore, he sailed for 17 years with NOL Singapore, Kuwait Oil Tankers (KOTC) and World-Wide Shipping as Master on Shell & BP-chartered vessels.
Dheeraj is qualified Master Mariner from the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency, holds an MBA in Oil and Gas Management and is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, London. Having worked for shipowners, managers and oil majors in marine operations, safety, commercial and new building departments, Dheeraj brings a wealth of commercial shipping experience and an owner's perspective with him.
Managing Director, Aries Energy
Gireesh M Menon is the Managing Director of Aries Group of companies. Headquartered in Sharjah, the company established in 1998, now operates in 29 countries around the world. With interests in diversified fields like oil & gas, Shipping, event management, 3D animation, studios, theatres and film production, the group now has 76 companies in its portfolio. Mr. Menon is a Naval Architect by profession and has a degree in Naval Architecture from Cochin university, Masters in marine technology from Newcastle university, and also is an MBA Degree holder.
He has been at the forefront of many innovative designs, consultancy works and organizing events undertaken throughout his 22-year tenure with Aries Group. Leading a team of over 500+ engineering personnel, he has been instrumental in establishing Aries marine as one of the leading Engineering and design consultancy firm in the world, with expertise in a wide range of activities including Offshore Engineering, Naval Architecture, Surveys, Auditing, 3D scanning, Drone inspections, Subsea Engineering and much more. Under his leadership, the company has been involved in new build designs, retrofits and conversions of a wide variety of ship types including tankers, Cable ships, LNG ships, Rigs, offshore platforms and many more.
MD Middle East and SW Asia/Director Shipping Analytics at NAVTOR
Amitabh Sankranti is a Master Mariner and MBA from the Indian School of Business. He is currently working as Managing Director for Navtor UAE and India office and doubles up as Global Director for the Shipping Analytics Business Unit at Navtor. Prior to Navtor, Amitabh founded the company Ingenium Marine, which was acquired by Navtor in 2022. He has worked in various ship management functions as a Fleet Director and Quality Assurance Director at Schulte Group and Scorpio Tankers respectively.
He did his cadet ship in Training Ship Rajendra and has been actively working in the shipping industry since 1993.
CEO, Noatum CSM
Julian Panter is currently the CEO of the Noatum CSM, which is a joint venture between AD Ports & Columbia Group. The joint venture, based in the UAE, has been established to provide world class ship management services to the maritime industry. Prior to his current role, Mr. Panter was the CEO of SmartSea, another joint venture with SITA, who are the leading aviation technology company in the world. SmartSea was established to leverage aviation technologies for the maritime industry. He has also served as a strategic advisor to Saudi Aramco, contributing to a nationwide Government sponsored maritime expansion strategy aligned with Vision 2030, and as Vice President at International Maritime Industries, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco, Lamprell, Bahri, and Hyundai Heavy Industries. Mr. Panter holds an MBA from The University of Manchester and a master's degree (MA) in human resources management from Middlesex University. He is also a proud full Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development.
Vice President, Bahri Ship Management
Abdullah Alyami is a Saudi national expert with over 20 years of experience in the maritime and oil and gas industries. He completed his Marine Engineering study at Southampton University in the United Kingdom. He began his career as a cadet with Vela International Marine in 1999 whilst successfully completing the Saudi Aramco CDPNE program. He steadily climbed the ranks to become a Chief Marine Engineer on very large crude oil tankers. Currently, he is positioned as the Vice President of Fleet Management at BAHRI.
Abdullah is known for his strong leadership skills, organizational abilities, and extensive experience in marine engineering. He excels in managing day-to-day ship operations with a focus on safety and efficiency. His specialized knowledge in marine engineering encompasses maintenance, repair, and cost-effective operations.
Throughout his career, Abdullah has held various positions of increasing responsibility. He started as Fourth Marine Engineer and transcended to be Chief Marine Engineer. With consistent dedication, he was promoted to Senior Superintendent in 2018, followed by Senior Manager and then Director of Fleet Management in 2021. He continued to advance as he now serves as Vice President for Fleet Management.
Abdullah’s unwavering dedication, expertise, and relentless pursuit of excellence position him as a highly asset in the marine industry.
Chief Maritime Strategy & Innovation Officer
Lila Global, Dubai
Dr Abdul Rahim is the Chief Maritime Strategy & Innovation Officer, at Lila Global, Dubai. Prior to this, he was a Corporate Officer, and the Managing Director, Europe and Africa, of ClassNK based in London. He has been with ClassNK for more than 3 decades, serving long stints in various roles in Tokyo, Singapore, London, Mumbai and Dubai. He also held the position of Chairman of NAPA Group, Finland.
Dr Rahim has a Bachelor’s degree in Naval Architecture and Ship Building from Cochin University of Science and Technology, and Master’s and Doctoral Degrees in Ship Structures from Hiroshima University. He has published more than 120 technical papers. Some of his accolades include the Joint RINA SNAME IMarEST Institute Branch Award, Singapore (2004), IMarEST Stanley Grey Medal, London (2005), Maritime Personality of the Year Award, Dubai (2017), Maritime Professional Excellence Award, London (2023).
