Who We Are
Tabarin Logistics has an impeccable pedigree, with our founding partners each having over 35 years of navy ship support experience. Tim Ferns and Dan Bryant, who between them have nearly 50 years of experience in the RN as logistic officers joined in 2023, to steer Tabarin Logistics, a new enterprise in the UK. Tabarin is focussed on the delivery of logisitic services for organisations with complex, expeditionary requirements globally. We began operating in 2023, securing a contract to provide support to the Royal Navy in Cyprus the following year and this year, won a contract to support British Antarctic Survey in Punta Arenas, Chile.
Now delivering operationally on these two contracts, we are focussed on further work supporting the scientific community in the polar regions, as well as event, sports, expeditions and film/documentary companies requiring support solutions.
At the heart of Tabarin Logistics is our strong committment to supporting our clients in a sustainable manner and to contribute meaningfully to social value. We work closely with our clients to ensure that we understand their environmental and sustainability goals so that, together, we can work to reduce the impact we have on our planet.
The name Tabarin reflects two very important aspects for us. It is the name of a Royal Navy operation in the Second World War to establish bases in the Antarctic and eventually became the basis on which British Antarctic Survey was established, so it has its DNA rooted in both the RN and BAS - as does the Company!
Tim Ferns
Managing Director
I left the Royal Navy in 2023 after 34 years’ service and I’m delighted to be working with Tabarin. It’s meant I’ve had an easy transition, back to do something that I loved as a junior officer, all those years ago, providing logistic support through port visits. We’re very proud to look after our military personnel and I'm delighted to be supporting British Antarctic Survey too. I was fortunate enough to serve in the RN's ice-breaker, HMS ENDURANCE and I was priviledged to visit both Antarctica and South Georgia many times over a 2 year posting.
Operation Tabarin was the code name for a not-so-secret British expedition to the Antarctic during World War Two. Conducted by the Royal Navy on behalf of the Colonial Office, its primary objective was to strengthen British claims to sovereignty of territories, to which Argentina and Chile had made counter claims. The cover story was to prevent German and Japanese forces establishing themselves in the region.
A variety of science and mapping work was carried out and 14 men over-wintered in 1944. In the Antarctic summer of 1944/45, another base hut was built on Coronation Island, South Orkney Islands (Base C). Base D, Hope Bay, Trinity Peninsula, was established as the centre for the expedition's second year and 21 men over-wintered in 1945. Following the end of the war, the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) was established and took over from the Operation. In 1962 FIDS was re-named the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), following Britain's ratification of the Antarctic Treaty and the creation of British Antarctic Territory.
Following Cabinet approval in January 1943, there was an intensive period of planning, recruitment and procurement, before the expedition left the UK in November 1943, led by Lieutenant-Commander James Marr, and supported by an international group including scientists and explorers. Two bases were established in early 1944 – Base B, at Deception Island, South Shetland Islands, and later the main base, Base A, at Port Lockroy, Wiencke Island. The base at Port Lockroy included a post office which began issuing stamps to legitimise the claim. The post office still exists to this day, thanks to the work of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.
HMS William Scoresby, together with SS Fitzroy delivered the team to Antactica in 1944.
HMS Scoresby: Photographer James Farrington, 3 Feb 1944. Reproduced courtesy of the British Antarctic Survey Archives Service, ref. BAS : AD6/19/1/A201/3.
James Marr: Photographer Ivan Mackenzie Lamb, 29 October 1944. Reproduced courtesy of the British Antarctic Survey Archives Service, ref. BAS : AD6/19/1/A53/2
Port Lockory: Photographer Howard Edward Chapman, 1962. Reproduced courtesy of the British Antarctic Survey Archives Service, ref. BAS : AD6/19/3/C/A6
Pictures published by kind permission of the British Antarctic Survey Archives under the Open Government Licence http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/uk-gov-licensing-framework.htm
Lt Cdr James Marr RNR, Op Tabarin Commander
Port Lockroy camp
Our values
Everything we do is driven by our customers. We are very proud to support the UK Armed Forces and British Antarctic Survey and we understand our role in maintaining operational effectiveness – whatever you need, whenever you need it, wherever you are – we’re your partner alongside.
Our integrity is of paramount importance to us and we will be transparent in our dealings with our customers. Reputation is critical in this industry and we will be professional, efficient and diligent in all our business relationships
We are global, with the network to find your support solution, no matter how remote.
We are experienced operators, we fully appreciate the need for security, precision, timeliness and discretion in all our dealings.
We greatly value diversity and inclusivity. With an international workforce and global operations, we pride ourselves on our multi-cultural team and we have a zero-tolerance approach to any form of discrimination.
We are committed to operating sustainably and helping our customers find environmentally friendly solutions.
Our vision
At Tabarin, we leverage our long-term experience and specialised expertise in serving our customers to provide innovative, reliable, and secure logistics solutions. Our highly skilled personnel are committed to delivering excellence and ensuring operational efficiency. We take pride in our trustworthy approach, ensuring the security of critical assets through tailored, cutting-edge solutions that support the evolving needs of our partners. We work to ensure sustainable solutions are at the heart of all we do.