DUBAI, UAE – 29 December 2025
The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST) UAE Branch, in partnership with Aries Energy, hosted an exclusive “cinematic voyage” for the maritime community on 28 December 2025. The event featured a private screening of the internationally acclaimed, Oscar-qualified film DAM999 at Emirates Hills, Dubai.
The screening brought together 48 distinguished guests, maritime professionals and their spouses for an evening that bridged the gap between ship operations and the arts. Following the film, Mrs. Abhini Roy graciously hosted the guests for cocktails and dinner to discuss the movie’s profound implications for safety, engineering and seafarers’ experience.
Directed by Sir Sohan Roy, DAM 999 holds the distinction of being the first international motion picture produced and directed by mariners. The film utilized a VLCC, the largest vessel ever used for a film production, to bring the authentic scale of the maritime industry to the silver screen. “This is not merely a disaster thriller, it is a cinematic tribute crafted by the hands of seafarers,” noted Nikeel Idnani, Honorary Secretary of the IMarEST UAE branch, during the event’s welcome address, reflecting the irony of a mariner’s life, where one often finds peril on land that mirrors the dangers of the deep.
The film explored the Navarasa (9 human emotions) through the lens of a maritime professional. It draws a powerful parallel between a dam holding back water and a seafarer suppressing emotions during long months at sea. Beyond its narrative, DAM999 serves as a critical social warning regarding the 40,000 outdated dams globally, advocating for ‘maritime-style’ vigilance in civil engineering and infrastructure maintenance.
Sir Sohan Roy is a prominent Indian entrepreneur, naval architect/Marine Engineer and filmmaker based in Dubai. He is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of the Aries Group of Companies, a multinational conglomerate that has grown into one of the world’s largest ship design and inspection firms.
Though family expectations initially forced him to a seafaring career path that stifled his true calling, he never let his inner fire for cinema go out. As fate would have it, a harrowing, life-altering explosion on his first ship as a Junior Engineer, convinced his family to leave the sea and pursue his authentic purpose. What followed was a masterclass in perseverance: for 16 grueling years, he tirelessly built a global maritime empire, not just for business, but to earn the freedom to fund his creative dreams. This decade-and-a-half of relentless labor finally culminated in the creation of DAM 999, proving that no matter how delayed the start, passion backed by tireless grit can turn any vision into a world-class reality.
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About the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST)
The IMarEST which is headquartered in London, is an international professional body and learned society for marine engineers, scientists and technologists. With its global appeal, consultative status at IMO, collaborative undertakings with governments worldwide and international standing, IMarEST is, inter alia, the preferred partner for sharing knowledge and dissemination of information to a broad spectrum of marine professionals at local and international levels. More details can be accessed via www.imarest.org
