As one of the first members of AECO and IAATO, we not only follow all guidelines for safe and environmentally friendly polar travel but are deeply involved in writing these guidelines, maintaining both membership and leadership positions in these organizations. Members of our managerial team have served on AECO’s guidelines committee as well as IAATO’s field operations committee.
Science is a central part of Oceanwide’s culture and history, starting with our roots in the Plancius Foundation. But it is also vital to our growing understanding of the polar environment. In 1983, the Arctic Centre of Groningen University in the Netherlands launched a research program to Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Along with the scientists who embarked on these expeditions were tourists who contributed to the financial support of the study by paying for their berths. This research program, which became known as the Plancius Foundation, was the first operator to organize yearly expedition voyages to Svalbard.
Oceanwide Expeditions continued these voyages upon its formation in 1993.
We are therefore happy to assist in the following projects:
Documenting and analyzing Arctic litter by helping scientists like Wouter Jan Strietman monitor plastics and microplastics as part of his Arctic Litter Project with Wageningen University & Research.
Offering our passengers the chance to participate in citizen science projects that directly contribute to current Arctic and Antarctic research. Facilitating the work of scientists like Martine Van den Heuvel-Greve, who studies non-native invasive species in the Arctic, by inviting her to conduct research on our vessel Plancius.
Delivering scientific equipment such as ARGO floats, which measure water temperature, salinity, and pressure, to discover how climate change impacts the oceans.
Hosting researchers on our ships who study ice cores, weather fluctuations, and CO2 concentrations in order to advance our knowledge of climate change, its effects, and how we can curtail (or possibly even reverse) it's devastating impact.
Hiring many of the aforementioned scientists as lecturer-guides enables these professionals to share their important and fascinating research with our passengers.
