Discussion with Sanjeev Sarin, Commercial Director at YACHT INTERNATIONAL
How did you start in shipping?
My entry into shipping was almost accidental. I began my shipping career in 1979 joining T.S. Rajendra through a competitive exam. I sailed with Indian and foreign companies rising to Third Officer. In 1981, I suffered a serious leg injury while my vessel was passing Dubai, a place I knew nothing about at the time. Dubai became my home from that moment onward. During my recovery, I frequented the Seafarers Club where I met the Managing Director of Gray Mackenzie. He offered me a job as a radio operator and soon after I moved to the Tanker Department, handling offshore operations. This was the beginning of what became a 35-year tenure with the same organization, which later became Inchcape Shipping Services. I moved from Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah and eventually to Fujairah, where I helped open one of the first agency offices in the mid-1980s. Over time, I grew into senior regional roles, traveling constantly and overseeing operations across multiple countries. In 2019, I joined Yacht International, founded by Mr. Unni, whom I had known throughout my career and have been working with him ever since.
How was your experience with Inchcape Shipping?
In the early 1980s, Dubai anchorage was extremely busy, long before Fujairah existed as a port. Ras Al Khaimah was even busier, and at one point we had 13 or 14 boats operating there. I handled not just the boats but even Bell 212 helicopters that carried cargo and crew to the anchorage. When Fujairah began to emerge around 1985, Gray Mackenzie asked me to establish the company’s first office there. We were the second company to bring a boat to Fujairah; GAC had arrived just before us. That experience placed me among the earliest entrants in a port that would later become one of the world’s most important anchorages. I also witnessed Dubai’s transformation. Gray Mackenzie managed Port Rashid and held 60% equity in it. This was before Jebel Ali existed. Dubai in the late 70s and early 80s was little more than a quiet town, and I had a front-row seat as it grew into the global hub it is today. Gray Mackenzie underwent several transitions. Before the Inchcape name was adopted, a separate entity called MMI was created, driven by local partners who wanted to expand into logistics, distribution, and alcohol sales. While shipping was retained to support this business, logistics and FMCG operations eventually spun off into what became the MMI Logistics Center. The global transformation came when DP World acquired the network, which operated under many different names around the world, Southern Steamship in the Americas, Gellatly in Europe, Dodwell in Japan, and Gray Mackenzie in the UAE. DP World consolidated these operations under one global brand: Inchcape Shipping Services. Being part of this transformation, and traveling almost weekly, was among the most memorable phases of my career.
Can you tell us about your current company?
Yacht International was founded in 2006 by Mr. Unni Krishnan, who began his career as an accountant before moving into shipping operations and eventually becoming a manager at Khor Fakkan Marine Services. He later invited Mr. Prakash Vakkayil, who was then working with V-Ships Agency, to join as a partner. The company started modestly but expanded steadily, adding commercial activities to its license and gradually acquiring floating assets. Over the years, Yacht International built a fleet of 12 vessels in the UAE, including crew boats, water barges, platform supply vessels, and anchor-handling tugs. The company later expanded into ship owning. The group has other businesses but shipping remains the core of what we do.
What is your vision for Yacht International?
We want to improve efficiency, transparency, and financial accuracy across all our shipping operations. When we met with MagicPort, we wanted to use technology to dramatically reduce bureaucracy and streamline processes such as PDA and FDA issuance. Since then, we have collaborated closely with you on product development, providing ideas that were implemented quickly, and we see this technology as essential for scaling into a global player. We believe a hub model will enable us to support clients across regions. In Singapore, our strategy is clear: operate as a high-quality boat operator, not as an agency. We invested heavily in overhauling vessels, upgrading safety standards, and implementing a two-man-per-boat policy. Here, we positioned ourselves as a modern, safety-driven alternative. We have a strong team in Singapore and we have doubled our customer base in six months. We have been present in the UAE for nearly 20 years and we see further room for growth.
What does a ship agent do?
A shipping agent is essentially a local port information broker, the owner’s eyes and ears on the ground. Owners cannot be everywhere, so they rely on agents who understand local procedures, authorities, and practical realities. In the early days, poor communication meant the agent acted almost like the vessel’s temporary owner, deciding on repairs, provisioning, and vendor selection. But after the mid-1990s, when the internet transformed communications, the world shrank. Ship owners could contact vendors directly, eliminating the agent’s earlier control over procurement and services. Only a handful of functions remain exclusive to agents today: arranging visas, interacting with port authorities, registering vessel arrivals. The rest has diminished.
How do you see the role of agents evolving now?
In highly digital markets like Singapore and the UAE, the agent’s role is shrinking. Many processes can be done online, and small “briefcase agencies” appear frequently. However, the human element, local knowledge, judgment, and the ability to guide an owner correctly, remains irreplaceable. A strong agent builds trust much like a personal doctor: once a client experiences good service, the relationship becomes long-term.
How has the shipping industry changed over years?
The change has been enormous. When I began, even landline calls required advance booking. Communication was slow, and agents made decisions independently. With fax machines things improved, but the real transformation came with the internet. Today, suppliers, surveyors, and repair yards can reach shipowners directly, and owners can bypass agents for most services. As a result, the agent’s scope has narrowed dramatically. The industry has also become far more competitive, transparent, and standardized than it once was.
