ABOUT US

    Neco Marine is part of the Neco group of companies, including real estate, construction, bottled water, and Yamaha and Shell dealerships. Former Palau president Ngiratkel Etpison founded NECO (Ngiratkel Etpison Company) after WWII, when he started selling ice candy using scrapped generators. He also started the first tour bus company on Palau in the 1970s, and was the land owner and local partner for the Palau Pacific Resort until his son Shallum took over the businesses. Neco Marine was started by Shallum in a cargo container in 1984 with one small boat. When the Palau Pacific Resort opened in 1985, he started operating there, and hired Mandy as the first PADI instructor on the island. Today Neco's tourism-related businesses, aside from the Neco Marine operation, include Neco Tour, the Cliffside Hotel, the Etpison Museum, Splash, Palau Hana Tour, the Drop-Off Bar & Grill, the Palau Aggressor II, and the Tropic Dancer.

STAFF

The CEO

    Despite Shallum Etpison's busy schedule and many other business interests, he can be found around the dive shop most days, and is always ready for a quick chat. Mention the word "fishing," and you'll have his undivided attention, but don't look for him on a Sunday; that's his fishing day. Shallum and the Neco Group are major sponsors of the Palau Conservation Society and the Micronesian Voyage Society, as well as most sporting and community events that take place in Palau, including the annual Palau Boat Race and Fishing Derby. While Shallum has been the economic advisor to several presidents, acting Governor for Ngatpang State, and a presidentially-appointed board member on the Palau Visitors Authority and other task forces, he refuses to be lured into active politics. His current project is trying to develop the aquaculture industry in Palau, which started with a pilot project in Ngatpang several years ago.

The Troubleshooter

    Dutch-born Mandy Thijssen Etpison came to Palau in 1985 and has been married to Shallum since 1988. An accomplished wildlife photographer and artist, she runs the Etpison Museum, handles Shallum's paperwork, and generally troubleshoots for entire the Neco Group. She has authored and published six books on Palau and is currently the French Honorary Consul to Palau. Her two current projects are trying to photo ID the mantas in Palau and continuing the Palau Dugong Awareness Campaign. If the tide and weather are right, you'll find her on the Neco Marine dive boats with her camera.

The Management

Chipper Tellei, our General Manager, brings with him a very diverse background. Born in Palau, his experience in the local tourism industry began before college as a tour guide and boat operator. After college in Hawaii, he returned home to help manage a local company that was involved in several diverse industries: hotel, restaurant, boat charter, car rental, construction, automotive, and retail. He loves the water and enjoys fishing in his free time.

Karen Etpison is Shallum's sister and other right-hand woman. Normally found at the Neco Group's main office downtown, she is the only person aside from Shallum and Mandy who knows everything there is to know about Neco, which is why she's in charge when they are traveling.

Jennie Basco, our Assistant Manager, is in charge of daily scheduling and staff assignments. She's an expert at dealing with all the different nationalities of staff and tourists passing through Neco Marine, and always brings a smile to any interaction. Jennie's husband Eric is in charge of Shallum's aquaculture business.

Marllis Besong, our Boat Operations Manager, keeps all our boats and docks in shape. He has years of experience as a boat captain himself and is an accomplished dive guide and fisherman. If you can't find him on a boat, he'll be fixing things next door at Neco Yamaha. Marllis also helps out with the annual Palau Boat Race.

The Guides

Nicole Veltman has dived all over the place, including Egypt, the Galapagos, Thailand, Bermuda, and Costa Rica. She is a keen videographer - her favorite things to film are manta rays and sharks, especially hammerheads. Hailing from the Netherlands, this always smiling Dutch lady has been guiding and instructing for the last four years and has now fulfilled her lifelong ambition to work and dive in Palau!

Philip Lu, after giving up a career behind a desk, only diving now and then, now loves his career diving, and only is behind a desk now and then. Infused with wanderlust, he's traveled and dived the world, including the Caribbean, Central America, the Galapagos, Southeast Asia, the Maldives, and Southern Africa. He is fluent in New York City English and Mandarin Chinese.

Fabio Esposito, our Italian IDC Staff Instructor with ten years in the diving industry, arrived in Palau after drifting through the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Caribbean, and Indian Oceans. Besides Italian, he speaks Spanish, French, and English.

Brad Nairn is the "new kid on the block." A 23-year-old South African, he is very enthusiastic about diving in Palau.

Aki Ogawa, an instructor with his lovely wife Miwa, Aki San is one of our longest serving dive guides. "Enjoy diving with us. Slowly, safely, and relaxed - that's my policy."

Miwa Ogawa, part of an instructor team with her husband Aki, Miwa looks after all our Japanese guests. Miwa is also one of our long term guides. "Enjoy diving with us. Slowly, safely, and relaxed - that's my policy."

The Boat Captains

Joe Maldangesang is one of the most respected boat captains in Palau and a former dive guide. Joe is always in demand, especially by people looking for something a little bit different. Every February, Joe has a private charter with the Bent Prop Project, where he helps the Bent Prop guys piece together the history and evidence of crash sites, in their continuing search for MIA's. This guy can keep a secret - Joe and the Bent Prop team discovered a B24 Bomber off the eastern side of Palau in 18m/60ft of water, and wouldn't tell us the location for six months! This guy is hard core and we love him for it.

Innis Worswick, Max Adelbai, Charlie Mgiralman and Ricky Adelbai are our Rock Island Tour operators.

Mers Arurang, another native Palauan, is our Dolphin Pacific Captain. Should you decide to visit Dolphin Pacific during your stay, you will be in good hands with Mers.

Stein Rengiil, after living in Hawaii and the mainland US for some time working in construction, is happy to be back home in Palau. Stein is truly a man of many talents and is a very creative artist. You may see him anywhere, from the water to the airport. If you are in trouble in Palau, this is the guy you need on your side, because there's no one who messes with Stein!

Aries Hinosa grew up in a seafaring village in the Philippines and worked as a professional fisherman before joining the Neco crew over ten years ago. He is an exceptional boat captain with an uncanny ability to read the current...even from a mile away! Not only is he top-notch at his job, but he is also a PADI Rescue diver, so don't be surprised if you see him diving with you on his day off. Aries is always smiling and rarely misses a day of work, and it's widely known that he never misses a meal either!

Mar Nerves is First Mate on Tekrar & fuel attendant. No one at Neco has a bigger heart than Mar, always smiling (even at 5:00am). Mar does everything from oil changes on Tekrar to taking Grandma snorkeling at lunchtime. His sixth sense is most definitely his "dive sense" when, more often that not, he is the smartest person on the dive deck (and yes, that includes the guides)! We love the guy!

Back at base

RJ Panganiban doesn't talk much, but he does a lot. If he's not in the gear room, you can find him on Demul helping out with the fishing trips.

Felix Malijan is in charge of filling your tanks with fresh, clean air and nitrox each day. Felix was an actor of 'Tom Cruise' proportions back in the Philippines, but even the bright lights of Hollywood can't draw him away from Palau.

Kazol "Eagle Eyes" Sheik looks after NECO Marine's busy fuel stations and marina, but he's also on Shallum's Sunday fishing team, where he's earned the nickname "Eagle Eyes," from his uncanny ability to spot birds thirty miles away! Although he has fished with Shallum for years, poor Kazol has never developed his sea legs. Always happy to see you, Kazol is a great asset.

Sagar Paudel is trained in the special martial arts of Nepal. If he weren't our security guard at NECO, he would surely be a cage fighter! He makes sure that nobody and nothing comes close to our facility at night!

Ius - Eclectus Parrot was born in the Rock Islands, but thinks he's human. Among his many talents, the one that stands out the most is his ability to swear in 3 different languages. He is particularly fond of a few people, including Joe and Stein. Unfortunately, Ius never learned the saying "don't bite the hand that feeds you!"

Future Staff

Neco Marine believes in training, which is why we have started early with these three: Iked, Keriik and Edwin at 16, 15 and 15 respectively. They are already PADI Rescue Divers with several years experience and over 500 dives each. All three want to be Divemasters, and they can be found on our boats almost every weekend as well as whenever school is out. These guys know Palau's dive sites as well as any guide! They have modeled underwater for Mandy and have already dived with tiger sharks. Iked is Mandy and Shallum's youngest, Keriik is Marllis' son, and Edwin is Karen's son, so they've been around diving their whole lives.