Canadian Business Awards 2019

28 Corporate Vision 2019 Canadian Business Awards , Martech Polar Consulting Ltd Best Polar Ice Navigation & Pilotage Specialists 2019 Martech Polar is a full-service specialist company that provides bespoke consultation and onboard ice navigation services in both the Arctic and Antarctic. We caught up with Captain David (Duke) Snider to find out more about the firmand the developments it has undergone over the past 12months. Dec18582 Having begun as a small business, Martech Polar has since flourished, and today it operates internationally, supporting a wide variety of clients and providing a myriad of services. In his opening comments David discusses how far the firm has come and how it has evolved since inception. “Originally, Martech Polar began as a one-man operation in the 1990’s and has now grown to a team that numbers more than two dozen experienced polar mariners and experts in polar shipping operations and calls upon associates for consultation services whenever needed. Though our base of operations has remained in Canada we operate throughout both Antarctic and Arctic regions. Our base in a truly Arctic coastal nation with intimate cultural and professional connection to a large Arctic shipping industry keeps us at the forefront of industry technique and trends. “Today, our international breadth ensures we can quickly and professionally adapt and provide the most effective bespoke polar shipping service. Our mission statement “ensuring progress in Polar shipping” assures our clients that we will provide safe planning and execution of Polar voyages for ships of all types. We maintain a global footprint with a team of internationally experienced mariners from countries that include Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Estonia, Russia, France, Italy, Finland, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. Our global experience sets us apart from other more regionally based and focused service providers. We can respond to service requests globally and quickly. Our team’s tremendous breadth of experience allows us to match the right Ice Navigator with the right experience to a particular vessel or trade, whether it is cargo, passenger, research, super yacht or government vessel.” Seeking to offer guests a truly authentic artic experience, Martech Polar’s experience and familiarity in challenging Polar Regions provides clients with the best way forward in ensuring safe and efficient operations. David explores the firm’s experience in more detail and outlines how this benefits its valued clients. “Martech Polar exists to ensure progress in polar shipping, with safety first in everything we do. Our role is to provide ship owners and operators with the most experienced Ice Navigators that come onboard and provide expert advice to the Master and the bridge team, fully integrating into the bridge team. Our consultation services utilize the same team to provide pre-voyage assessment, planning and voyage execution monitoring services. All of our team are either active Ice Navigators or specialists in ice analysis, ice class design and construction or polar expedition support as the mission requires. “Operationally, our experienced and certified Ice Navigators provide onboard guidance to clients, ensuring safe operation in Polar waters, whether within ice regimes or avoiding ice regimes. Our sea going team members hold current senior STCW Certificates of Competency, Polar Code Compliant Certificates of Proficiency in Polar Waters Advanced Training and Nautical Institute Ice Navigator Level 2 certification. While onboard, our Ice Navigators integrate fully with the command team, reporting to the Master directly and providing advice and watchkeeping capability when in or near ice. Our consultation team draws upon a broad spectrum of operational ice specialists, technical design and construction experts with ice class experience and ice physics specialists.” Thanks to the firm’s vast expertise, it is able to offer its clients tailored solutions designed to meet their exact needs, as David is keen to highlight. “As part of our focus on providing our clients with the services they need, at Martech Polar our services are bespoke from beginning to end. We work with clients to determine what their needs truly are, guiding them through the realities versus myths of polar operations. We follow a reiterative process to narrow down and focus on the true client needs then match our specific resources to those needs. We also attempt stay abreast of the latest updates in communication and ice analysis technology in order to assure that our teams have available the most accurate and time. Depending on the situation our Ice Navigators may arrive onboard with specialist equipment loaded