Mahesh Singh’s flight to success in breakbulk space
Human aspirations have no boundaries, but more often than not most of them remain unrealized. For Mahesh Singh, a young entrepreneur brimming with unbridled enthusiasm and determination to make a mark on the transportation space, there are reasons to think otherwise.
The 38-year old founder and managing director of Trans Coral Shipping LLC, a Ship Broker and Breakbulk Ship Operator headquartered in Dubai, has been selected by the “AntwerpXL 40 UNDER 40” as one of the rising stars of the breakbulk and heavy-lift industry from India – a recognition any budding professional covets. Under this global platform, professionals under the age of 40 can either self-nominate or be nominated for entry into the prestigious list.
“At first, I was too cagey about even registering my nomination because there could be thousands of more eligible and established breakbulk professionals vying with one another for selection. So with a psyche of not making it to the selection list, I just signed up my nomination,” Mahesh quipped.
According to him, the selection is based on two main criteria: the applicant should be under the age of 40, and should have a proven track record in the breakbulk industry. AntwerpXL has a group of eminent panel of judges from around the world, who scrutinize the applications thoroughly and conduct background checks on nominees before choosing them for award.
Mark Rimmer, Antwerp XL Divisional Director, says, “Attracting and retaining the next generation of talent is absolutely critical to the long-term success of the breakbulk industry. We want to identify and celebrate those younger players within the industry and showcase their contribution so far.”
As Mahesh says in his own words ecstatically, “there are no shortcuts to success” and surely his journey is one that can inspire many.
Transportation is deeply ingrained in Mahesh’s blood. While his late father was a government employee, his two brothers have their own transport business. So working in this industry has always been his passion and to turn his dreams into reality, he started off as a deck cadet at the age of 20. Slowly and steadily over a few years, he worked his way up the ladder, from a junior operations executive to an operations manager heading a fleet of breakbulk vessels at a large shipowner.
In 2011, when he was 28, he started his own shipping firm and became involved in breakbulk cargoes on the back of his vast experience in handling breakbulk/heavy-lifts.
“With no investor backing up and using my own hard earned savings and with no business for months, I fixed my first shipment and since then, I have never looked back,” Mahesh said. “Currently, I have office in Dubai, Sharjah and Mumbai.”
Having spent some time in the industry, Mahesh realized that most of the professionals in freight forwarding verticals were not so hands-on when it came to complex issues like chartering terms and conditions for booking cargo. Keeping this in mind, Mahesh decided to make a website - www.charteringterms.com -- where people can go through the shipping jargons and understand them.
Singh has also been able to build camaraderie within the industry around him and in 2019, along with three other peers, Mr Faisal Mohammed, Mr Shaheer Poolakkal and Shailendra Singh Chauhan, he created a private group, dubbed “Dubai Shipping Circle (DSC),” with the goal of identifying and addressing challenges faced at the local industry level. This platform began as a “whatsapp group” but the members hold regular private events to brainstorm and share views. One of such recent events, which was sponsored by the Port of Duqm, was attended by as many as 65 people representing breakbulk/heavylift ship operators, freight forwarders and clearing agents. According to Mahesh, DSC also has plans to register itself as a non-profit entity once the ongoing pandemic scenario recedes and industry prospects turn around.