The polar regions are what we do. From our expert expedition guides to our impeccable crew to our diversely skilled office staff, the OEX team is all about giving you the utmost experience of the Arctic, Antarctica, and the sub-Antarctic. Seasoned passengers of our own epic voyages, we bring to the table not only a love of the exotic polar world but also a combined wealth of expertise unrivaled by any other polar tour operator. Join us on one of our adventurous voyages, and let us share with you all there is to see, do, and explore in Earth’s most remote frontiers.
Our staff
Expedition staff
- Hans Verdaat
- Function: Expedition leader
- Nationality: Dutch
Hans his fascination for nature and traveling has been present all of his life. From a young age on he has been a birder and fascination with the polar regions caught him during one of his birding travels to the North of Norway.
After his study Coastal Zone Management he started working on the Dutch island Texel as a field researcher for the marine research institute of Wageningen University. In his research he specialises in seabirds and marine mammals.
Since 2004 he has participated in scientific research projects in the Antarctica, Caribbean, West-Africa, Spitsbergen and European waters. He has always been fascinated with the polar regions and has participated in several scientific expeditions both to the Arctic and Antarctic.
In 1999 he started working as a (birding) guide. The last years he has combined his research job with guiding & expedition leading for Oceanwide Expeditions.
In his free time Hans is a keen nature photographer and an active member of the team supporting the international development of the citizens science platform Observation.org
- Philipp Schaudy
- Function: Expedition leader
- Nationality: Austrian
Philipp Schaudy holds a Master’s Degree in Physical Geography and has studied in Austria, Iceland, and Svalbard. A restless traveler, adventurer, and alpinist, he’s always loved the outdoors.
- Florence Kuyper
- Function: Expedition leader
- Nationality: Dutch
Florence is a world traveler with a passion for the polar regions, remote nature, deserts, history, and nomadic peoples.
- Pippa Low
- Function: Expedition leader
- Nationality: British
- Christian Engelke
- Function: Expedition leader
- Nationality: German
- Eduardo Rubio
- Function: Expedition leader
- Nationality: Guatemalan
- Claudio Ghiglione
- Function: Expedition leader
- Nationality: Italian
- Adam Turner
- Function: Expedition leader
- Nationality: British
- Rinie van Meurs
- Function: Expedition leader
- Nationality: Dutch
- Jan Belgers
- Function: Expedition leader
- Nationality: Dutch
- Ali Liddle
- Function: Expedition leader
- Nationality: British
- Sara Jenner
- Function: Expedition leader
- Nationality: British
- Marcel Paul
- Function: Expedition leader
- Nationality: Dutch
Activity staff
- Henrik Enckell
- Function: Dive Team Leader & Advisor
- Nationality: 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
- Nationality: British
Michael began diving in 1980, training with the Royal Navy in Portsmouth Harbour.
Captains
- Arthur Yakovlev
- Function: Captain
- Nationality: Russian
Arthur Yakovlev was born in Petrozavodsk, the capital and largest city of the Republic of Karelia, in northwestern Russia.
At the age of 15, he started training at the Maritime College in Petrozavodsk, where he graduated in 1999. At 18 he began his career as a seaman on a dry cargo vessel.
One year later, he was promoted as third officer on the same type of vessel, and later as second officer, working on various cargo vessels until 2007.
That same year, Arthur began work as a second officer on the passenger vessel Marina Cvetaeva, now Ortelius. As of 2008 he has worked for Oceanwide Expeditions, and in 2019 became a captain on Plancius.
Arthur never dreamed that most of his career would be spent in the polar waters, but he considers this his destiny and would not have it any other way.
He is married and has a son, and during vacation he enjoys spending most of his time with his family, while also traveling and enjoying nature.
- Evgeny Levakov
- Function: Captain
- Nationality: Russian
Evgeny Levakov was born in a small village not far from Nerekhta, an ancient Russian town in the Kostroma region. The closest water to his village was a 15,000 square-meter pond.
- Remmert Koster
- Function: Captain
- Nationality: Dutch
Remmert Koster was born in the Netherlands, and from a young age he was convinced he would become a captain.
- Ernesto Barria
- Function: Captain
- Nationality: Chilean
- Toni Salo
- Function: Captain
- Nationality: Finnish
- Joachim Schiel
- Function: Captain
- Nationality: German
Office
- Adam Turner
- Function: CXO - Head of Expedition Operations
- Nationality: British
- Loraine van Huizen
- Function: Online Marketeer
- Nationality: Dutch
- Grace Vidal
- Function: Reservations, North-America
- Nationality: American
- Majanda Fens
- Function: Reservations Manager
- Nationality: Dutch
- Maria del Pilar Fernandez
- Function: International Sales Manager
- Nationality: Chilean
- Dorine van Boekhout
- Function: Reservations
- Nationality: Dutch
- Andreas Diesing
- Function: Key Account Manager for the German speaking countries
- Nationality: German
- Stefan Pruimboom
- Function: Staffing and Operations Advisor
- Nationality: Dutch
- Kees Matthes
- Function: Nautical Superintendent
- Nationality: Dutch
- Erik Hageman
- Function: CFO
- Nationality: Dutch
- Teun van ‘t Verlaat
- Function: Technical Superintendent
- Nationality: Dutch
- Piet Vink
- Function: Managing Director
- Nationality: Dutch
- Michel van Gessel
- Function: Director
- Nationality: Dutch
- Florian J. Piper
- Function: Director Sales | Arctic program
- Nationality: German
- Marina Joglar
- Function: Reservations, North-America
- Nationality: American
- Femke Wolfert
- Function: Staffing Manager
- Nationality: Dutch
- Franklin Braeckman
- Function: Antarctic Program Manager
- Nationality: Belgian
- Marie Rose Porreca
- Function: Reservations, North-America
- Nationality: American
- John Yeh
- Function: Sales Representative China & South Asia & Oceania
- Nationality: Chinese
- Nyrée Siereveld-Verstraete
- Function: Account Assistant
- Nationality: Dutch
- Alexandra den Dikken
- Function: Senior Graphic Designer
- Nationality: Dutch
- Elza Back
- Function: Account Assistant
- Nationality: Dutch
- Danique van Burken
- Function: Senior Marketing Manager
- Nationality: Dutch
- Ko de Korte
- Function: Consultant
- Nationality: Dutch
- Karin Toornstra
- Function: Reservations
- Nationality: Dutch
- Gabi Merten
- Function: Reservations for the German speaking market
- Nationality: German
- Toto Vermue
- Function: Sales Accountmanager
- Nationality: Dutch
- Sebastiaan Schijf
- Function: Financial Controller
- Nationality: Dutch