Nuestro Equipo

Oceanwide staff

Expedition staff

  • Christian Engelke
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nacionalidad: German

Since his first vacation to Norway in 1996, Christian Engelke has suffered from “Scandinavia fever.” Since then he has been exploring Norway, Sweden, and Greenland by foot, skis, and kayak.

After finishing an undergrad degree in engineering, Christian moved to Svalbard in 2008. Three unforgettable years later, he moved “down south” to Tromsø in Northern Norway, where he finished a master’s degree.

Since 2009 Christian has worked as a freelance guide and expedition leader. His initial voyages were in Svalbard and Greenland.

As of 2014, he has also worked in the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia. He loves the wildlife, stark landscape, and heroic history of these areas. 

Christian is a sea kayak instructor with a specialty in Tromsø whale-watching trips. When he’s not in the high latitudes, you’ll probably find him in his kayak off the Norwegian coast.

  • Sara Jenner
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nacionalidad: 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.

Read an interview here >
  • Rinie van Meurs
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch

Rinie van Meurs has been an expedition leader since 1989, leading hundreds of expeditions all over the polar regions. The Arctic island of Spitsbergen, the largest in the Svalbard archipelago, is as familiar to him as his own back yard.

  • Pippa Low
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nacionalidad: British
  • Marcel Paul
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Florence Kuyper
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Ali Liddle
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nacionalidad: British
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  • Eduardo Rubio
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nacionalidad: Guatemalan
  • Adam Turner
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nacionalidad: British
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  • Jan Belgers
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Hans Verdaat
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Philipp Schaudy
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nacionalidad: Austrian
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  • Claudio Ghiglione
  • Function: Expedition leader
  • Nacionalidad: Italian

Activity staff

  • Henrik Enckell
  • Function: Dive Team Leader & Advisor
  • Nacionalidad: 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
  • Nacionalidad: British

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

Captains

  • Joachim Schiel
  • Function: Captain
  • Nacionalidad: German

Born near the German city of Cologne, Joachim Schiel grew up some distance from the coast. His first contact with vessels came from the yearly sailing trips he made with a youth group on the Baltic.

After finishing school, serving in the military, and working a few different jobs, he started an apprenticeship in boat building. It was not long, however, before he realized he would rather work on vessels at sea than in the shipyard.

So in 1998, he started his sailing career on tall ships. Over the following years, he sailed during the summer and attended nautical college in Enkhuizen during the winter. This led to sailing on many different vessels all over the world before he became a captain in 2006.

He first sailed to Svalbard in 2009 and instantly fell in love with the Arctic, preferring to sail in the far north ever since. He has been on Rembrandt van Rijn since 2017, making voyages in Northern Norway, Svalbard, and East Greenland.

When Joachim is not sailing the polar regions, he likes to go hiking and diving in the warmer areas of the world.

  • Ernesto Barria
  • Function: Captain
  • Nacionalidad: 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.

Read an interview here >
  • Remmert Koster
  • Function: Captain
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch

Remmert Koster was born in the Netherlands, and from a young age he was convinced he would become a captain.

  • Toni Salo
  • Function: Captain
  • Nacionalidad: Finnish
  • Evgeny Levakov
  • Function: Captain
  • Nacionalidad: Russian
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  • Arthur Yakovlev
  • Function: Captain
  • Nacionalidad: Russian

Office

Head Office:
Fax: +31 (0)118 410 417
Correo electrónico: info@oceanwide-expeditions.com
USA & Canada reservations:
Fax: +1 (0)281 749 8220
Correo electrónico: usa@oceanwide-expeditions.com
  • Stefan Pruimboom
  • Function: Staffing and Operations Advisor
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Michel van Gessel
  • Function: Director
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Marissa Medrano
  • Function: Accounting
  • Nacionalidad: American
  • Marina Joglar
  • Function: Reservations, North-America
  • Nacionalidad: American
  • Piet Vink
  • Function: Managing Director
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Andreas Diesing
  • Function: Key Account Manager for the German speaking countries
  • Nacionalidad: German
  • John Yeh
  • Function: Sales Representative China & South Asia & Oceania
  • Nacionalidad: Chinese
  • Kees Matthes
  • Function: Nautical Superintendent
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Marie Rose Porreca
  • Function: Reservations, North-America
  • Nacionalidad: American
  • Femke Wolfert
  • Function: Staffing Manager
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Teun van ‘t Verlaat
  • Function: Technical Superintendent
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Grace Vidal
  • Function: Reservations, North-America
  • Nacionalidad: American
  • Alexandra den Dikken
  • Function: Senior Graphic Designer
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Adam Turner
  • Function: CXO - Head of Expedition Operations
  • Nacionalidad: British
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  • Sebastiaan Schijf
  • Function: Financial Controller
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Nyrée Siereveld-Verstraete
  • Function: Account Assistant
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Florian J. Piper
  • Function: Director Sales | Arctic program
  • Nacionalidad: German
  • Elza Back
  • Function: Account Assistant
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Sasha Rachkova
  • Function: Online Marketeer
  • Nacionalidad: Russian
  • Erik Hageman
  • Function: CFO
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Toto Vermue
  • Function: Sales Accountmanager
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
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  • Ko de Korte
  • Function: Consultant
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
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  • Maria del Pilar Fernandez
  • Function: International Sales Manager
  • Nacionalidad: Chilean
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  • Karin Toornstra
  • Function: Reservations
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Loraine van Huizen
  • Function: Online Marketeer
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Dorine van Boekhout
  • Function: Reservations
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Gabi Merten
  • Function: Reservations for the German speaking market
  • Nacionalidad: German
  • George Janes
  • Function: Senior Copywriter
  • Nacionalidad: British
  • Majanda Fens
  • Function: Reservations Manager
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Franklin Braeckman
  • Function: Antarctic Program Manager
  • Nacionalidad: Belgian
  • Danique van Burken
  • Function: Senior Marketing Manager
  • Nacionalidad: Dutch
  • Michael Frauendorfer
  • Function: Hotel Operations Manager
  • Nacionalidad: Austrian
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