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A panel discussion on ‘The Baltic Perspective: front-runner regional approaches to addressing a global threat’ at a UN Ocean Conference 2025 side event “No time to waste: Tackling submerged munitions in European seas“ on 11 June 2025, Research vessel METEOR (Registration for in-person attendance closed)
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Panellists
Agnieszka Jędruch is a marine chemist and oceanographer at the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Sopot. With over a decade of experience in underwater munitions research, her work focuses on sea-dumped ammunition, chemical weapon contamination and the mobility of trace metals in marine sediments.
Her research contributes to advancing scientific knowledge and environmental risk assessments. She integrates environmental monitoring, advanced marine technologies and policy-relevant science to develop sustainable solutions for addressing legacy munitions in the marine environment.
Delilah Al Khudhairy is the Director for Maritime Policy and Blue Economy in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE). The Directorate co-leads, together with DG RTD the development of the EU Mission Ocean & Waters and provides open access to reliable marine data and stimulates investment of risk capital in the blue economy.
Delilah has served in the European Commission since 1990. Prior to her current position, she was the Director for Strategy, Work Programme and Resources for several years, followed by a short spell as Director for Competences, at the European Commission’s in-house Science and Knowledge service, the Joint Research Centre.
Rüdiger Strempel is the Executive Secretary of the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, also known as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM). In this role, he coordinates the efforts of the Baltic Sea states to protect the marine environment, including work on hazardous submerged objects.
An international lawyer by training, he has extensive experience in environmental law, policy and diplomacy at both national and international levels, with a particular focus on marine conservation. His previous positions include Executive Secretary of the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North-East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (UNEP/ASCOBANS) and Executive Secretary of the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (CWSS).
Stefan Mehlhase is Policy Officer in Division WII3 “Pollution of the marine environment, regional marine protection cooperation” at the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN). In this role, he has been in charge of the “Immediate action program for unexploded munitions in the North and Baltic Seas” since 2023.
He is a civil engineer by training with a specialization in coastal engineering. Before joining the BMUKN, he worked for several years in coastal management at the German Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration.
Moderator
Katarina Viik is a Professional Secretary at the HELCOM Secretariat. She is responsible for the coordination of the HELCOM Working Group on Reduction of Pressures from Sea-based Sources (WG Sea-based pressures), the HELCOM Maritime Working Group, the HELCOM Response Working Group and their respective subsidiary bodies, including the Expert Groups on Marine Litter and Underwater Noise. Her role entails overall coordination, implementation and further development of matters related to sea- based sources of pollution and other pressures on the Baltic Sea environment.