Our staff

Ali Liddle grew up in the north of England where, after leaving school, she qualified as a primary school teacher.

After working in a rural school in Cumbria, she traveled Australia and New Zealand, taking a job as a teacher in the Falkland Islands, living on remote farms and teaching children at home.

A year later, she spent nine months overwintering on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, where she served as a post mistress.

Returning to the Falkland Islands again, Ali continued to teach, taking a job at the primary school in Stanley and staying there for the next 15 years.

A subsequent job with Falklands Conservation allowed her to complete a project in environmental education, developing curriculum resources. This led to work as a local tour guide.

Ali has been with Oceanwide Expeditions since 2010, working as a guide, lecturer, and expedition leader in Antarctica and the Arctic. She loves sharing her passion for the polar regions, especially the sub-Antarctic.

Andrey Zybin was born in Yeisk, a small, cozy resort town on the flat-sand coast of the Azov Sea.

Since childhood he dreamed of being a captain, and his favorite books during adolescence were all about the sea, marine adventures, and voyages to unexplored lands.

After high school, he started his naval career in the Rostov-on-Don Maritime College, graduating in 1982.

He then began work as a navigator for the Murmansk Shipping Company, transporting cargo across the Northern Sea Route and Northeast Passage to Dikson and Pevek.

After continuing his education at the Murmansk Highest Engineering Marine Academy, he became a captain, and in 2011 he started working for the Russian Institute of Oceanology.

It was there that he began captaining expedition cruises to the Arctic and Antarctica.

In 2011 he moved to Kaliningrad, where the climate is milder, and has worked as a flag state control officer for the port, monitoring the condition of the vessels.

Andrey married in 1985 and has a daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. During vacation, when he’s not playing chess or volleyball, he likes to travel to various historical parts of the world.