Oceanwide Expeditions is a Dutch company specializing in expedition-style voyages to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

and the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

. Deploying its own fleet of ice-strengthened vessels, Oceanwide emphasizes small-scale, flexible tours that provide passengers close contact with polar wildlife, landscapes, and historical sites. Tours usually take place in regions only accessible by sea, with little to no infrastructure. The locations visited are first reached by ship, after which expedition guides take small groups of passengers to landing sites by way of Zodiac Milpro RIBs (rigid inflatable boats), enabling safe cruising and maximum shore time.

History

Starting in 1983, the Dutch “Plancius Foundation” was the first operator to organize yearly polar expedition cruises to the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. Oceanwide Expeditions continued with the activities of the Plancius Foundation in 1993. The origin of the Plancius Foundation started with the Arctic Centre at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen in ...

, which launched a research program investigating 17th-century Dutch whaling around Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard chain. With Arctic archaeology professor Louwrens Hacquebord leading the initiative, the ship ''Pollox'' was purchased in 1979 and renamed ''Plancius'' to accommodate research around the Dutch settlement of

Smeerenburg Smeerenburg was a whaling settlement on Amsterdam Island in northwest Svalbard. It was founded by the Danish and Dutch in 1619 as one of Europe's northernmost outposts. With the local bowhead whale population soon decimated and whaling devel ...

. Along with the scientists on board were tourists who had paid for their Arctic journey, and their contributions formed part of the later financial support for the Svalbard expeditions. Eventually, however, funding troubles overtook the Plancius Foundation and the ship was sold.

Awards and recognitions

* Five-time winner of World's Leading Polar Expedition Operator Award * Geo Saison's Best Activity Provider Award at the 2013 ITB Berlin Goldene Palme Awards * Outside Magazine's first Active Travel Award winner in 2012 * Two-time winner of Puffin Award by AECO

Partnerships

Oceanwide Expeditions works closely with organizations that support the preservation of natural habitats and sustainable environmental conditions. In the Arctic, these entities include the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) and Clean Up Svalbard. In Antarctica, the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) and

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

are two organizations with whom Oceanwide works.

Fleet

Oceanwide Expeditions currently operates five vessels of various nautical classes: sailing vessel , former Royal Dutch Navy oceanographic research vessel , former Russian Academy of Science vessel , and Polar Class 6 vessels m/v ''Hondius'' and m/v ''Janssonius''. All vessels are equipped with Zodiac Milpro RIBs for ship-to-shore landings, while ''Ortelius'' is also outfitted with a helipad for helicopter flights in the Weddell and Ross seas.

Destinations

Marina Svetaeva in Antarctica December 2010

Arctic region

* Bear Island *

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...

Jan Mayen Jan Mayen () is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: larger nort ...

Fair Isle Fair Isle (; sco, Fair Isle; non, Friðarey; gd, Fara) is an island in Shetland, in northern Scotland. It lies about halfway between mainland Shetland and Orkney. It is known for its bird observatory and a traditional style of knitting. Th ...

* North Norway

Antarctic region

Bouvet Island Bouvet Island ( ; or ''Bouvetøyen'') is an island claimed by Norway, and declared an uninhabited protected nature reserve. It is a subantarctic volcanic island, situated in the South Atlantic Ocean at the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ri ...

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

South Orkney Islands The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula South Sandwich Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = , song = , image_map = South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in United Kingdom.svg , map_caption = Location of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic Oce ...

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...

Ross Sea The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who vi ...

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of nearly 75,000 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, Ushuaia claims the title of world's southern ...

Weddell Sea The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha ...

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory o ...

St. Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena ...

The ideal time of year to visit the Arctic is around the Northern Hemisphere summer, from April through September. The Southern Hemisphere summer, from October through March, is the best time to visit Antarctica.

References

External links

* {{cite web , url=http://www.oceanwide-expeditions.com/ , title=Oceanwide Expeditions Expedition cruising Travel and holiday companies of the Netherlands Companies based in Zeeland Vlissingen