Michael Brooks FRGS

Michael Brooks is an engineer, project leader, yacht skipper and expedition operator with more than two decades of experience across defence, private vessels, expedition operations and remote environments.

He began his professional career in the Merchant Navy as an Engineering Officer, subsequently moving into the Royal Navy as an Electrical and Electronic Engineering Artificer. Working with safety-critical naval systems, technical investigations, maintenance, operational readiness and project delivery, his later Royal Navy project work included the Devonport Site Access and Induction rollout, coordinating milestones, risks, stakeholders and reporting for a major change program affecting more than 20,000 military, civilian and contractor personnel.

Michael subsequently founded and led Expedition Sailing, purchasing a 46-foot steel expedition yacht as a wreck and rebuilding and recommissioning the vessel for extended offshore and remote operations. The work covered structural, mechanical, electrical, navigation, communications, safety and accommodation systems. He went on to command the vessel and deliver more than 80,000 nautical miles of expedition sailing, ocean passages and remote operations.

His expedition experience includes operations in Antarctica, Greenland, Svalbard, South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, the Caribbean, Central America and other remote maritime environments. Vessel-supported expeditions have included first ascents of Mount Bridgman in Antarctica and Mirror Wall in Greenland, requiring the integration of ocean passage-making, remote anchorages, field logistics, ski and glacier access, communications and contingency planning.

At Swan Hellenic, Michael worked in expedition leadership and program development across polar operations. He designed and implemented a new snowshoe program from concept through equipment selection, SOP development, risk controls, guest briefings, staff training and pilot delivery, training up to 13 expedition staff before wider rollout.

His wider experience includes remote-island diving and conservation operations, marine fieldwork, equipment readiness, vessel support and coral restoration research dives through Dive Carriacou.

This combination of engineering, vessel command, expedition delivery and project leadership shapes BMP Maritime’s approach: define the objective, understand the operating constraints, connect the right specialists, maintain visibility across interfaces and keep delivery moving through to completion.