Executive Team
Captain Sid Hynes
Executive Chairman
Canada’s first Dynamic Positioning Captain and youngest sea Captain, Sid Hynes cofounded Canship Limited in 1986. Canship owned and managed a range of marine vessels operating worldwide, and later expanded into naval architecture and design and marine consulting services. In 1995, Canship partnered with JJ Ugland A/S of Norway to form Canship Ugland Limited, as owner/operator of the largest and most sophisticated ships in Canada which carried out the transportation of crude oil from offshore oil fields off Canada’s east coast. In late 2007, Sid, as managing partner of South Coast Partners, led the acquisition of Oceanex Income Fund, then owners of Oceanex Inc., an intermodal transportation provider operating in Eastern Canada. Today, Sid serves as Executive Chairman of Oceanex Inc.
Captain Hynes is a graduate of the Nautical Science MOT Program and a Certified Master Mariner, and has served on numerous boards relating to the offshore oil and gas industry. He has received many awards throughout his career, including Honorary Doctor of Laws from Memorial University. Most recently, he has been appointed as Finland’s Honorary Consul to St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Matthew Hynes
Executive Vice President
Matthew began his career in the marine transportation industry with Canship Limited, gaining early experience in the management of RoRo container vessel operations. In 2008, he joined Oceanex as Manager of Special Projects, quickly advancing through roles including Sales Manager for Newfoundland and Labrador and Pricing Manager. His strategic insights and leadership led to his promotion to Vice President, Corporate Development in 2013, and later to Executive Vice President in 2015.
As Executive Vice President, Matthew oversees Oceanex’s day to day activities, drives the development of new business opportunities aligned with the company’s long-term strategy, and ensures continuous improvement of business practices. He holds a degree in Business Administration from Memorial University.
Captain Marco Ahrens
Senior Vice President
Captain Ahrens joined Oceanex in 2022, bringing over 20 years of national and international shore based marine industry senior management experience. He has a seagoing background having held command onboard supertankers and dynamically positioned shuttle tankers.
Captain Ahrens has a Bachelor of Science degree from Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg Sweden.
Diane Reid
Vice President, Operations
Ms. Reid joined Oceanex in May 2007, serving as Inland Manager responsible for all trucking in Newfoundland. In December 2007, she became Terminal Manager responsible for all operations in the St. John’s area. In 2008, she was appointed to General Manager for Newfoundland Operations, which included being responsible for the terminals in Newfoundland, as well as all Newfoundland trucking operations. Ms. Reid is also the President of the St. John’s Shipping Association.
In January 2020, Ms. Reid was appointed to Vice President, Operations. In this position, Ms. Reid is responsible for land-based operations including terminal operations in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, trucking operations and railway transportation arrangements throughout North America, customer service and dispatch operations, the corporate safety group and maintenance of all terminal equipment. A business graduate of Toronto School of Business, Ms. Reid started her career in transportation with Midland Transport, where she worked for fifteen years in Operations Management prior to joining Oceanex.
Corey Curtis
Vice President, Marine Fleet Operations
Corey joined Oceanex in 2024, bringing over 20 years of experience in marine operations, including marine management and marine assurance for East Coast Canada’s oil and gas sector. He has international seagoing experience on various types of vessels and holds a Chief Engineer Certificate of Competency. Corey is a Marine Engineering graduate from the Marine Institute of Memorial University, holds a Diploma in Marine Surveying from Kent’s College and is currently completing his Masters of Maritime Management at Memorial University.
Deron O’Reilley
Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Mr. O’Reilley joined Oceanex in 2017, bringing over 20 years of senior commercial management experience in the transportation & logistics sector. A business graduate of Dalhousie University, he began his career in front-line field sales and quickly progressed through various senior sales & marketing management roles in Canada and Europe. Today, in his role as Vice President of Sales & Marketing, he is responsible for leading the commercial team at Oceanex, overseeing all aspects of revenue generation and volume growth.
Garland Oram
Vice President, Finance
Garland Oram joined Oceanex in March 2010 as a business analyst to provide assistance to senior management in assessing business opportunities through financial modelling, strategic planning and performance monitoring. He assumed the position of Vice-President, Finance in September 2012 and is responsible for the management of the finance team. Prior to joining Oceanex, Mr. Oram held various positions in accounting, finance, and senior management positions in accounting firms and in industry. He graduated with honours from Memorial University and has been a Chartered Professional Accountant, CA since 1985.
Amy Collins
Vice President, Human Resources & Labour Relations
Ms. Collins joined Oceanex in April 2024, bringing almost 20 years of human resources and labour relations experience in both the private and public sectors. Much of her work experience to date has been in the offshore oil and gas industry in Newfoundland and Labrador where she was a strategic partner with the business line and across organization functions. In her current role as Vice President, Human Resources and Labour Relations, she is responsible for leading all human resources and labour relations activities at Oceanex. Ms. Collins holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Toronto Metropolitan University and a Master of Industrial Relations degree from Queen’s University.
Tony Powell
Director, Business Development
Tony joined Oceanex in August 2014 as Director of Business Development with more than 37 years’ experience in the transportation industry. Much of Tony’s career has been spent in various Sales and Operations management roles with a major road carrier providing him with the opportunity to learn all aspects of the road transportation business. Tony’s commitment and dedication to the transportation industry was recognized in 2002 by The St. John’s Board of Trade when he was named “Transportation Person of the Year”.
Karen Snook
Vice President, Risk Management & Special Projects
Karen Snook joined Oceanex in December 2014 as Chief Financial Analyst and in March 2022 assumed the position of Vice-President, Risk Management and Special Projects. Karen has previously held senior management positions in both private and publicly traded companies where she actively engaged in acquisition and divestiture initiatives and managed the finance teams. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Co-operative) Honours degree from Memorial University and has been a Chartered Professional Accountant, CA since 1991.
David Jones, KC
General Counsel
David joined Oceanex in July, 2015 as General Counsel. Prior to that he occupied a number of Senior Executive positions within the Public Service of Newfoundland and Labrador. During his tenure with Government, he also served as General Counsel to a number of Commissions of Inquiry and as a Commissioner in his own right. During this period he also trained as an Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator and acted as a Government and a Court Advisor on such matters. Prior to joining the Government he was in private practice from 1984-1989.
Throughout his career he has gained valuable insight into the practice of law and the management of people and resources.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland, a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Dalhousie University, is a Notary Public and a Master of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.