We are delighted to announce Duke (USA) has agreed to become a Special Advisor to 90 North Foundation. As one of the world’s foremost ice pilots, he’s a Master Mariner with over 30 years at sea operating naval, commercial and coast guard vessels. Coincident with full-time employment in the Canadian Coast Guard, culminating as Regional Director Fleet (Western Region), he established his own consultancy, Martech Polar Consultants, providing polar shipping and ice-navigation training as well as hands-on navigation expertise. MPC was recognized in the Shipping Industry’s Awards as the “Best” Polar Ice Pilotage and Navigation Specialists (2018 & 2019). 

Along with his book Polar Ship Operations, which has become a standard textbook for ice-navigator training, he has written many other papers on ice navigation. He holds a Bachelor of Maritime Studies degree granted by Memorial University of Newfoundland (2006); and was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2011), the Canada-Finland Medal for his accomplishments in the development and practice of ice-navigating standards, and Canada’s Admiral’s Medal (2023) “for competence and expertise in ice navigation, contributing significantly to the safety of shipping in Canada’s far North”. 

Duke was instrumental in the establishment of the NI Ice Navigator qualification, and incorporation of similar requirements in the IMO Polar Code; and he continues to be active in Polar Code discussions at the UN International Maritime Organization today.