Captain Anthony Tony Toxopeus Marine Surveyor
In Memoriam • In Enduring Respect

Captain Anthony "Tony" Toxopeus

Master Mariner • Founder of Active Marine Services 

Tony was Vancouver's first Accredited Marine Surveyor, and for more than thirty years he was the person owners, underwriters, lenders and lawyers turned to for a straight answer about the condition of a vessel.

"The best thing is nobody got hurt, no pollution, and we got her back where she belonged."
— Capt. Tony Toxopeus, following the White Rock west beach salvage operation
The Life of a Master Mariner

A Lifelong Dedication

Captain Tony was Vancouver's first Accredited Marine Surveyor, and for more than thirty years he was the person owners, underwriters, lenders and lawyers turned to for a straight answer. He founded Active Marine Services and built it on the same qualities he brought to everything on the water.

Before he ever wrote his first survey, Tony served as an officer with the Canadian Coast Guard — work that took him from BC's inside waters to the Arctic, and gave him a practical, hands-on understanding of vessels that no classroom could teach alone. He carried that grounding into every survey, every claim, and every hour he spent as an expert witness explaining, plainly, what had gone wrong and why.

A Life of Service

  • Vancouver's First Accredited Marine Surveyor (AMS®) Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors (SAMS) member in continuous good standing since 1988.
  • Licensed Ship Master 500 GRT (DSC Endorsement) Certified shipmaster with commands across Canadian Coast Guard ships, tugs, and large commercial sailing schooners.
  • Founding Instructor — CCG RHIOT School Pioneered curriculum for the Canadian Coast Guard Rigid Hull Inflatable Offshore Training School in heavy surf.
  • Navy & Canadian Coast Guard Trained Diver Qualified underwater hull assessor, damage investigator, and salvage rigger.
  • Chapman’s School of Seamanship Graduate (1987) Formalized surveying, damage appraisal, and naval architecture fundamentals.
  • Supreme Court Recognized Expert Witness Forensic investigator called upon by Canadian marine underwriters, admiralty attorneys, and coroners.
Salvage Team Avoids Troubled Waters - News Report
From The News Archives

When the 34-foot Catalina sloop 'Being There' was blown onto White Rock's west beach after breaking its mooring in Ewing Cove, other salvage companies declined the contract due to perilous rocky breaks and approaching squalls.

Knowing that an impending gale would puncture the hull's fuel cells and dump diesel along the shoreline, Tony assembled a specialized local crew. Over an arduous 14-hour tidal window, they rolled the hull, patched breached port planks below the waterline, pumped her out, righted her on the incoming flood tide, and towed her into Blaine Harbour.

"This boat kind of bothered me... the night we towed it out, another big storm came through. If it had still been grounded, it would've punched the fuel tanks and we'd have had diesel all over the beach."
Visual History

Fieldwork & Expeditions 

Over three decades, Tony's work took him from small-craft surveys in local marinas to salvage sites, arctic barge inspections, and vessels that had run aground or caught fire far from any dock.

Before
Black Pearl Schooner
After
Hovercraft Operations
CCG George E Darby Search and Rescue
Operating AP1-88 Hovercraft in Kazakhstan
Carrying the Work Forward

A Note from Graham Cole

When Tony passed, Vancouver and the wider marine community lost more than an Accredited Surveyor. We lost a living encyclopedia of practical naval seamanship, a diver who never backed down from a treacherous recovery, and a mentor who believed that thorough surveying is fundamentally about protecting lives at sea.

Taking over the helm of Active Marine Services is both an honor and a profound responsibility. We made the deliberate decision not to discard Tony's original work or wipe his digital footprint clean. His words, his salvage photos, and his standards remain the bedrock upon which our company stands.

To Tony’s longtime clients, underwriters, boatyards, and mariners across British Columbia: the name Active Marine Services remains synonymous with uncompromised integrity and practical expertise. We look forward to continuing to serve you out on the water.

Graham Cole
Active Marine Services • boatsurvey.ca
Visit Active Marine Services →

"Fair winds, Tony. We have the watch."

Capt. Anthony "Tony" Toxopeus (AMS) • 1959–2026