Our Story

"The Malayali Shippie Brothers". The tag given our founders for a while now. Nothing that the shipping industry has not recently seen, but our journey only starts here.

Our story is to educate the "aam Janata"(Mango people) about the inner workings of the shipping industry. You may think it is an easy task, but we are here to show the real hard work that goes behind it all and of course the perks that we get along with it too.

Groove gear is our creative outlet towards those small things that matter to us & other seafarers we know, that the rest of the world seldom knows about.

Meet our Founders: 

The older one: Capt. Sidharth Unni 

Capt. Sidharth Unni has been on seas since 2006 and has worked under many authorities. There are one too many stories out there and one too many captains that have moulded him into the what he is right now, personally and professionally. "Like a passing storm or a smooth weather out in the ocean, your boss on board is also not permanent."

He has sailed in during the times, where a satellite call to your family was a rare commodity, as opposed to now where one has constant connectivity on board. He says "Every vessel has its own set of challenges and no task has ever felt as challenging as the wait to sign off." As the timeline suggests, he has sailed through times where the industry has changed quite a few things such as Internet connectivity and accessibility, ECDIS and other equipment on the bridge, engine upgrades. He has also handled on board inspections at various ports, which has helped him understand the cultural diversity in our world. 

He believes that throughout his sailing career, the only constant he could find were the waves in the ocean and the on-board brotherhood. Most of the onboard experiences and adventures will be shared by many out there and "Groove Gear" shall be one of the outlets of those stories. 

The younger one: Shabarinath Unni (Marine Engineer)

The other side of "Groove Gear" Mr.Shabarinath Unni, currently working with MAERSK. He is our technical support on board and helps us understand the life on sea from an engineer's perspective. He has worked on vessels capable of carrying 7,000-20,000 containers, propelled by large modern electronic engines as well as conventional ones. 

He believes, as a seafarer he leads a life of constant changes, whether it is a change of bosses & crews or the destinations or even the different types of engines he has to constantly deal with over the course of his career. This allows him a vast knowledge on machines and people. Each voyage becomes a different experience socially & professionally. He, much as the other seafarers, has had the opportunity to travel to quite a few popular and some unheard of destinations. His favourite country is New Zealand, where the natural beauty has left him in awe.

The life of a Marine engineer is extremely complex especially when dealing with engines that are standing upto 4-5 storeys high. Which gives way to his motto of working on ships: "to get your hands dirty". With passion towards engines and with all his technical knowledge, he looks at show-casing all of that with "Groove gear".