Rik F. van Hemmen

President and Senior Partner at Martin, Ottaway, van Hemmen & Dolan, Inc.

Speaker

Hendrik “Rik” van Hemmen is a Son of Son of a Sailor, and the President of Martin & Ottaway, Inc, a marine consulting firm that had been in continuous operation since 1875. Martin & Ottaway is an engineering firm that assists stakeholders in operational, technical and financial issues in marine emergencies. The firm had been, and continues to be, involved in the vast majority of worldwide marine emergencies, crimes, and casualties, with records reaching back as far as the Morro Castle and the Normandie, and extending through casualties such as the Exxon Valdez, Staten Island Ferry disaster, Deepwater Horizon, El Faro, and USS Fitzgerald.

Rik van Hemmen earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace and Ocean Engineering from Virginia Tech and is a licensed Professional Engineer. After working as a class surveyor, defense contractor, and yacht designer and naval architect, he joined Martin & Ottaway in 1988.

Since the turn of the century, he has been very active in sustainability and environmental issues both at the international and national commercial level, and at the local community level. At present he is very much focused on Marine Highways and Byways especially in the Hudson River Basin.

He is a Fellow in the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers and the National Academy of Forensic Engineers. He has testified on a wide range of technical and operational issues related to pollution and salvage matters, including the Exxon Valdez. He serves as the Education and Training Chairman for the OPA 90 Forum.

He is a widely published author on Salvage, Sustainable Energy, Game Theory and Design, and is a regular columnist on design and engineering issues in Maritime Reporter and Engineering News.

Rik van Hemmen lives in Monmouth County, New Jersey, where he keeps a 35 foot Solar Hybrid Electric Wheelchair Accessible Catamaran, and serves on various community boards including the Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary Federal Advisory Council. He is also very active in promotion of maritime careers in underserved communities.

Two of his three children work in the marine industry. His third child also worked in the marine industry, but unfortunately denounced his maritime roots and became a corporate lawyer.