Aethon Group is a global marine risk advisory and maritime services platform I founded in Dubai in 2010 — after leaving a Director-level position in the shipping industry to build something from scratch. Today it operates across 16+ countries on 6 continents, with 60+ OCIMF-accredited inspectors and clients that include Saudi Aramco, Equinor, ADNOC, and NLNG.
Most people who know me today know me as the Founder of Karma Developers or as the author of No Map, Just Vision. But Aethon Group came first. It was the original bet — the company I built when I had nothing but three decades of maritime experience and a conviction that there was a better way to deliver marine risk advisory services globally.
This post is an honest, detailed account of what Aethon Group is, what it does, why I built it, and how it grew into what it is today.
The Short Answer
What Is Aethon Group?
Aethon Group is a Dubai-based, ISO-certified marine risk advisory and maritime services platform. It operates across five distinct entities covering tanker inspection, marine trading, offshore engineering, marine casualty, claims support, and marine warranty services. Its head office is at 1205, Park Avenue, Silicon Oasis, Dubai, UAE.
The company’s core strength — what it has built its reputation on — is tanker inspections under the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) SIRE framework. Aethon Marine Services has one of the largest independent OCIMF-accredited inspector networks in the world, covering nearly every country with local personnel, allowing fast-turnaround, cost-effective inspection visits for oil majors, P&I clubs, government bodies, and maritime law firms.
The Founding Story
Why I Left a Director Role to Found Aethon in 2010
By 2010, I had spent close to three decades in international shipping — rising from cadet at T.S. Chanakya to become one of the youngest merchant ship captains of my generation, and eventually to a Director-level role at a major shipping company. By any conventional measure, I had made it.
What I had also accumulated — through decades of command at sea, of vessel inspections, of working within the OCIMF framework, of managing risk on oil majors’ behalf — was proprietary knowledge of a market that was underserved. Independent marine risk advisory, done to the highest standards, with genuine global reach and genuine impartiality, did not exist at the scale it should.
So in 2010, I resigned the Director role and founded Aethon Marine Services. The name comes from the Greek — Aethon, meaning “blazing” or “burning bright” — and it reflected the clarity I felt about what I was building: a company whose reputation would rest entirely on the quality and impartiality of its work.
“Before becoming a bestselling author and global real estate developer, I built my foundation in one of the world’s most critical yet least visible domains — maritime safety and risk. As founder of Aethon Marine Services, I helped strengthen global tanker safety within the OCIMF framework, establishing an inspection footprint that’s unmatched globally.”
— Captain (Dr.) Pradeep Singh, Gulf News interview, 2026
According to Gulf Business, Aethon Marine Services achieved global market leadership within four years of its founding — a timeline that reflects both the demand for what we were building and the speed with which a network of highly qualified Master Mariners and Chief Engineers can be deployed when you have the credibility to attract them.
Core Services
What Aethon Group Actually Does — Five Service Lines
Aethon Group’s services are organised across five disciplines. Every service is delivered with what the company describes as its founding standard: objectivity, fairness, and honesty — the three principles that the OCIMF inspection framework itself demands, and the three principles that any independent marine consultancy lives or dies by.
Service 01
Inspections, Audits & Surveys
The flagship service and the foundation of Aethon’s reputation. Tanker inspections under the OCIMF SIRE framework — including SIRE 2.0, the digitised successor programme — plus CDI, port state control preparation, condition surveys, pre-purchase surveys, and on/off-hire surveys. 60+ OCIMF-accredited inspectors operating in nearly every country.
Service 02
Marine & Offshore Engineering
Technical engineering support for maritime and offshore assets. Covers structural assessments, mechanical and electrical surveys, equipment inspections, and engineering consultancy for both vessels in service and assets under construction or conversion.
Service 03
Marine Casualty
Rapid expert attendance when maritime incidents occur. Aethon provides immediate on-site expertise to protect assets, preserve evidence, and safeguard the interests of shipowners, underwriters, and charterers in the critical hours following a marine casualty event.
Service 04
Claims, Disputes & Litigation
Independent technical expertise for maritime disputes. Aethon works with P&I clubs, insurance underwriters, shipowners, and maritime law firms — providing expert witness reports, cargo damage assessment, and technical opinions that hold up in arbitration and litigation environments.
Service 05
Marine Warranty Services
Independent marine warranty survey (MWS) and approval for high-value marine and offshore operations. Covers heavy lifts, towages, offshore installations, and other complex operations where insurance underwriters require independent verification before granting cover.
Group Structure
The Five Entities That Make Up Aethon Group
Aethon Group is not a single company — it is a group of complementary entities, each operating in a distinct part of the maritime services and trading ecosystem. Together, they provide an integrated maritime services platform that covers inspection, advisory, trading, and asset management.
| Entity | Primary Focus | Official Website |
| Aethon Marine Services LLC | Shipping inspection, marine consultancy, OCIMF SIRE — head office Dubai, Silicon Oasis | aethon-marine.com |
| Aethon Marine Services DMCC | Shipping inspection & marine consultancy — DMCC Free Zone entity | aethon-marine.com |
| Aethon General Trading LLC | Shipping & trading operations | aethontrading.com |
| Aethon International | Shipping and international trading | aethoninternational.com |
| Aethon Marine Ventures | Shipping and asset management | aethon-marine.com |
Industry Context
What Is OCIMF SIRE — and Why It Is Central to Aethon’s Work
If you are not from the maritime industry, you may not have heard of the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) or its Ship Inspection Report Programme (SIRE). Understanding these is essential to understanding why Aethon’s inspector network matters.
OCIMF is the global association of oil companies with an interest in the safe and environmentally responsible transportation of crude oil, oil products, petrochemicals, and gases. It was established in 1970 and today represents most of the world’s major oil companies.
SIRE, launched in 1993, is OCIMF’s tanker risk assessment tool — a standardised inspection programme used by charterers, terminal operators, and government bodies to assess a vessel’s safety and operational standards before it is chartered to carry oil or gas. An oil major like Saudi Aramco or Equinor will not charter a tanker without a satisfactory, recent SIRE report. This makes SIRE inspections a requirement of doing business in global energy shipping — not an optional quality measure.
SIRE 2.0: OCIMF has introduced SIRE 2.0, a digitised successor to the original programme, featuring tablet-based inspections, dynamic question sets, and an enhanced focus on human factors. Aethon’s 60+ accredited inspectors operate under SIRE 2.0 standards — ensuring clients receive reports that meet the most current oil major vetting requirements.
Aethon Marine Services has 60+ OCIMF-accredited inspectors — positioned in local markets across nearly every country. This local presence is a critical operational advantage: it means inspection visits are faster, cheaper (no intercontinental travel costs), and more responsive to urgent requests than larger consultancies who fly inspectors from regional hubs. As I put it in the Gulf News interview: my work at Aethon has helped establish an inspection footprint that is unmatched globally.
Who We Serve
Aethon Group’s Clients — Energy & Shipping Principals
Aethon Marine Services serves leading global energy companies, insurance underwriters, government entities, P&I clubs, and maritime law firms. The client roster reflects the company’s position at the top tier of independent marine consultancy — these are organisations that can and do choose from every firm in the market, and their continued engagement with Aethon reflects the standard of impartiality and technical accuracy the company delivers.
Beyond energy principals, Aethon’s claims and litigation support service also serves P&I clubs, insurance underwriters, and maritime law firms — providing the independent technical opinions that complex marine disputes require. This diversification across the value chain — from pre-charter inspection to post-incident litigation support — gives Aethon a resilience across market cycles that single-service firms lack.
Global Operations
16+ Countries, 9 Branches, 6 Continents
Aethon Marine Services operates with a head office in Dubai (1205, Park Avenue, Silicon Oasis) and 9 global branches. Its inspector network covers almost every country, operating across six continents:
- Asia
- Australia
- Europe
- Gulf
- Americas
- Africa
The contact for global enquiries is admin@aethonmarine.com and the head office can be reached at +971 (4) 2556 001. For a quotation or to discuss a specific inspection requirement, enquiries can also be submitted directly at aethon-marine.com.
The Wider Group
Aethon Group and Karma Developers — The Same DNA, Different Sectors
I am sometimes asked how I connect the dots between a marine risk advisory company and a real estate developer. The honest answer is that the connection is not in the industry — it is in the operating philosophy.
Both Karma Developers (founded 2013) and Aethon Group (founded 2010) were built on the same principles that maritime command instilled: precision, accountability, long-term value over short-term gain, and the refusal to compromise on standards that exist for a reason. In shipping, compromising on safety standards costs lives and causes environmental disasters. In real estate, compromising on quality costs customers their homes. The stakes are different; the discipline is identical.
Aethon Group was where I proved to myself — and to the market — that the principles of maritime leadership could be applied to building a professional services business. That proof gave me the confidence to build Karma Developers, which is a $1.3 billion+ portfolio company today. And the full arc of that journey — from Unnao to T.S. Chanakya to the bridge of a merchant ship to the founding of Aethon to Karma Developers — is what I wrote about in No Map, Just Vision
Common Questions About Aethon Group.
What is Aethon Group?
Aethon Group is a global marine risk advisory and maritime services platform founded in 2010 by Captain (Dr.) Pradeep Singh. Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, it operates through five entities — Aethon Marine Services LLC, Aethon Marine Services DMCC, Aethon General Trading LLC, Aethon International, and Aethon Marine Ventures — offering tanker inspections, OCIMF SIRE audits, marine casualty services, offshore engineering, claims support, and marine warranty services across 16+ countries on 6 continents. The company is ISO-certified with 60+ OCIMF-accredited inspectors and serves oil majors including Saudi Aramco, Equinor, and ADNOC.
Who founded Aethon Group and when?
Aethon Group was founded in 2010 by Captain (Dr.) Pradeep Singh — a Master Mariner who left a Director-level role in the shipping industry to start the company. According to Gulf Business, Aethon Marine Services achieved global market leadership within four years of its founding.
What services does Aethon Marine Services provide?
Aethon Marine Services provides five core services: Inspections, Audits & Surveys (including OCIMF SIRE tanker inspections); Marine & Offshore Engineering; Marine Casualty response; Claims, Disputes & Litigation support; and Marine Warranty Services. All services are delivered to ISO-certified standards with 60+ OCIMF-accredited inspectors across 16+ countries.
Where is Aethon Group headquartered?
Aethon Group is headquartered at 1205, Park Avenue, Silicon Oasis, Dubai, UAE. The company operates 9 global branches across 6 continents — Asia, Australia, Europe, the Gulf, the Americas, and Africa. The official website is aethon-marine.com.
What is OCIMF SIRE and why does it matter?
OCIMF SIRE (Ship Inspection Report Programme) is the tanker industry’s primary risk assessment and vetting tool, launched in 1993 by the Oil Companies International Marine Forum. Oil majors, charterers, terminal operators, and government bodies use SIRE reports to assess a vessel’s safety and operational standards before chartering. Aethon Marine Services has 60+ OCIMF-accredited inspectors — one of the largest independent OCIMF inspector networks globally — and now operates under the updated SIRE 2.0 digitised inspection framework.
Who are Aethon Group’s clients?
Aethon Group serves leading global energy and shipping principals including Saudi Aramco, Eni, Equinor, Koch Industries, Indian Oil, ENOC, ADNOC, Phillips 66, Cargill, Motor Oil, NLNG, and CDI. The company also provides claims and litigation services to P&I clubs, insurance underwriters, and maritime law firms.
