Ons team

Oceanwide staff

Onze vriendelijke en behulpzame collega's zijn u graag van dienst. Ze kunnen alle relevante vragen over onze reizen, de bestemmingen en de schepen van Oceanwide Expeditions beantwoorden. Ze werken allemaal reeds vele jaren met veel enthousiasme voor Oceanwide Expeditions en hebben ook allemaal één of meerdere expeditie reizen naar het Noordpoolgebied en Antarctica meegemaakt, waardoor ze de poolgebieden uit eerste hand kennen. 

Expedition staff

  • Katja Riedel
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nationaliteit: German

Katja grew up in Germany, where she completed her Ph.D. in Atmospheric Chemistry.

For her research, she spent the winter of 1997 at the German Antarctic Base Neumayer, where she was responsible for the Atmospheric Observatory.

Since then she has been on several scientific expeditions to Antarctica, measuring ozone at Scott Base, drilling ice cores at Law Dome, and taking samples of 120,000-year-old ice on Taylor Glacier in the Dry Valleys.

Katja worked for more than 12 years as a research scientist in Wellington, New Zealand, where her research interests were greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and in ice cores.

Since 2011 she has worked as a guide and lecturer on expedition cruises in the Arctic and Antarctica.

The polar regions have always fascinated Katja.

She has skied over 220 km (140 miles) through Svalbard, sailed in a small yacht to Antarctica, kayaked various polar waters, and worked as a science assistant in West Greenland.

Her fondest memories of Antarctica are building a 24-hour sundial and sledging from Hut Point to the Erebus Ice Tongue. Most recently, she skated 250 km (155 miles) across Lake Baikal in Siberia.

Life is an adventure for Katja. Whenever she can, she travels, hikes, cycles, sea kayaks, and skis to Earth’s remote and beautiful places.

When she is not traveling, she lives in New Zealand and works as a freelance guide, science communicator, and photographer.

Katja speaks fluent English and German.

Read an interview here >
  • Pippa Low
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nationaliteit: British

Pippa has worked as a marine guide and skipper for 10 years, primarily in Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, and the polar regions.

  • Sara Jenner
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nationaliteit: British

For as long as Sara can remember, she has had a passion for travel and for finding the wildest and most remote places on Earth.

  • Florence Kuyper
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Martin Berg
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nationaliteit: Swedish
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  • Philipp Schaudy
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nationaliteit: Austrian
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  • Adam Turner
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nationaliteit: British
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  • Beau Pruneau
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nationaliteit: Canadian
  • Rinie van Meurs
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Christian Engelke
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nationaliteit: German
  • Jan Belgers
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Ali Liddle
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nationaliteit: British
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Activity staff

  • Henrik Enckell
  • Function: Dive Team Leader & Advisor
  • Nationaliteit: Swedish

Henrik is an experienced dive leader, rebreather instructor trainer, and one of the first dive masters to bring tourists diving in Antarctica.

Henrik has been diving for over 25 years and teaches all levels of recreational and technical diving up to Advanced Trimix CCR.

He runs the IART (International Association of Rebreather Trainers) Regional Office for Northern Europe and is a member of the IART Board of Advisors.

Henrik is a keen wreck diver and has been involved in deep-wreck expeditions all over the world. Some of the interesting wrecks he has visited are the WW2 disasters General von Steuben and Wilhelm Gustloff in the Baltic as well as the HMS Victoria ("the vertical wreck") at 145 meters (475 feet) off the Lebanese coast.

His interest in both the ocean and space has engaged him in projects with the European Space Agency (Mars500 Project) and SeaSpace Exploration and Research Society (Project Poseidon), among others.

He has a military background, having served in peace keeping and enforcing missions in the Middle East and former Yugoslavia.

He has been leading dive expeditions in Antarctica and the Arctic for almost 20 years in remote and challenging waters, many of which have never been dived before.

Henrik holds an M.Sc. Degree in Electrical Engineering and works in the automotive industry when not traveling the polar regions.

He has lived and worked in Tokyo for two years but currently lives in India with his wife, three teenage daughters, and five-year-old son.

  • Michael Green
  • Function: Dive Team Leader and Advisor
  • Nationaliteit: British

Michael began diving in 1980, training with the Royal Navy in Portsmouth Harbour.

Captains

  • Ernesto Barria
  • Function: Captain
  • Nationaliteit: Chilean

Ernesto Barria was born in Santiago, Chile, into a family with strong bonds to the sea: His father, grandfather, and several uncles all share a love of the ocean.

A beach guard by the age of 16, Ernesto’s favorite sport when he was young was swimming. When he finished high school, he moved to Puerto Montt, one of the most important ports in Chile. There he started his studies to become a merchant marine officer.

By his graduation in 1991, he’d already begun to sail on different vessels around Puerto Montt.

Ernesto became first officer of Antarctic Dream in 2005, beginning by navigating in Antarctica and later the Arctic. In 2011 he obtained the rank of captain, and in 2015 he was chosen as the best officer of the Chilean merchant navy.

Ernesto became a captain for Oceanwide Expeditions on Ortelius in 2013.

When he’s not working, Ernesto loves to travel around Chile with his family. He enjoys scuba diving, swimming, cycling, and photography, which has become his favorite hobby.

Read an interview here >
  • Alexander Schmidt
  • Function: Captain
  • Nationaliteit: German

Ali was born in Germany, where he studied geography but eventually decided to turn his passion for sailing into a profession. He pursued nautical studies in the Netherlands, specializing in traditional sailing ships as well as tall ships.

  • Arthur Yakovlev
  • Function: Captain
  • Nationaliteit: Russian

Arthur Yakovlev was born in Petrozavodsk, the capital and largest city of the Republic of Karelia, in northwestern Russia.

  • Mika Erik Appel
  • Function: Captain
  • Nationaliteit: Finnish
  • Remmert Koster
  • Function: Captain
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Evgeny Levakov
  • Function: Captain
  • Nationaliteit: Russian
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  • Toni Salo
  • Function: Captain
  • Nationaliteit: Finnish

Office

Head Office:
Fax: +31 (0)118 410 417
USA & Canada reservations:
Fax: +1 (0)281 749 8220
  • Teun van ‘t Verlaat
  • Function: Technical Superintendent
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Nyrée Siereveld-Verstraete
  • Function: Account Assistant
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Adam Turner
  • Function: Field Operations Manager
  • Nationaliteit: British
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  • Iris van Zalinge
  • Function: Sales Accountmanager
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
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  • Florian J. Piper
  • Function: Director Sales | Arctic program
  • Nationaliteit: German
  • Erik Hageman
  • Function: CFO
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Jeroen Blanken
  • Function: Hotel Operations Manager
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Toto Vermue
  • Function: Sales Accountmanager
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
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  • Michel van Gessel
  • Function: Director
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Elza Back
  • Function: Account Assistant
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Ingrid van de Loo
  • Function: Food & Beverage Manager
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Geert Kroes
  • Function: Art Director
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Femke Wolfert
  • Function: Staffing Manager
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Loraine van Huizen
  • Function: Online Marketeer
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Dorine van Boekhout
  • Function: Reservations
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Maria del Pilar Fernandez
  • Function: International Sales Manager
  • Nationaliteit: Chilean
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  • Marina Joglar
  • Function: Reservations, North-America
  • Nationaliteit: American
  • Sebastiaan Schijf
  • Function: Financial Controller
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Marie Rose Porreca
  • Function: Reservations, North-America
  • Nationaliteit: American
  • Piet Vink
  • Function: Managing Director
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Majanda Fens
  • Function: Reservations Manager
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Sietse Vonk
  • Function: Purchase & logistic Manager
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Alexandra den Dikken
  • Function: Senior Graphic Designer
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Andreas Diesing
  • Function: Key Account Manager for the German speaking countries
  • Nationaliteit: German
  • Danique van Burken
  • Function: Senior Marketing Manager
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Karin Toornstra
  • Function: Reservations
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
  • Franklin Braeckman
  • Function: Antarctic Program Manager
  • Nationaliteit: Belgian
  • Gabi Merten
  • Function: Reservations for the German speaking market
  • Nationaliteit: German
  • Grace Vidal
  • Function: Reservations, North-America
  • Nationaliteit: American
  • Ko de Korte
  • Function: Consultant
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
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  • Matt Cutts
  • Function: Content Writer
  • Nationaliteit: American
  • Ronald van Herwijnen
  • Function: Technical Superintendent
  • Nationaliteit: Dutch
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