EVENT DATE: February 12, 2014
TOPIC: Arctic Shipping Routes: Actual and Potential Routes Resulting from Climate Change

Captain Toomey is renowned for his expertise in ice navigation. He has completed 14 transits of the Northwest Passage, six voyages to the North Pole, one transit of the Siberian Northern Sea Route, and 33 voyages to Antarctica.

He is now a specialist consultant in training ice navigators and in regulations concerning ice navigation. He contributes frequent articles for newspapers, magazines and academic journals. He co-authored the Ice Navigation Manual.

Captain Toomey began his seagoing career with the British Merchant Navy in the 1950s. Emigrating to Canada in 1964, he joined the Canadian Coast Guard at Dartmouth N.S. He attained his first command in 1970 and commanded nine different icebreakers in 21 years, retiring in 1991. He is bilingual in English and French. He resides in Kingston, Ontario.