PIERRE-ANTOINE
ROCHAS

Pierre-Antoine is the Director of Environment, Safety, Security, Ports and Data at Armateurs de France, the French Shipowners’ Association, where he has worked since 2021. Previously, he served as a Project Officer for Ship Safety Inspection at Brittany Ferries (2019–2020). He holds a Master’s degree (Master 2) in Maritime Law and Management from Aix-Marseille University, obtained in 2019.

EMILIE
ESPANET

NICK
WALKER

Nick is a Partner in Watson Farley & Williams’ Regulatory Group, based in London. He provides contentious and non-contentious environmental and health and safety (EHS) law advice across a broad range of sectors and jurisdictions, including energy, transport and pharmaceuticals. He has particular expertise in WFW’s core sectors of energy and transport, where he advises on the EHS aspects of renewables, oil and gas and conventional power projects. In the transport sector Nick focusses on identifying and mitigating risks arising from EU and international regulatory compliance schemes including ship recycling, FuelEU Maritime and the EU ETS.

PATRIZIA
HEIDEGGER

Patrizia is the Deputy Secretary General of the European Environmental Bureau, Europe’s largest federation of environmental organisations, where she advocates for people‑centred policymaking, environmental justice and sustainable development. She leads teams focused on global and regional policy, environmental law and justice, economic transition, circular economy, and climate and energy, strategic communication and human resources, and is part of the EEB’s Senior Management. Beyond the EEB, Patrizia helps strengthen Europe’s civic space as Vice‑President of Civil Society Europe and as a board member of the European Movement International. Her commitment to justice is rooted in 25 years of work with civil society organisations in Europe and Asia, including leadership roles in environmental and human rights advocacy, parliamentary advising, and international cooperation, including as Executive Director of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform. She holds an M.A. in Political Science and Comparative Literature and an LL.M in International Human Rights Law.

STEVE
WELHAM

Steve has been Head of Safety & Compliance at Kishorn Port Ltd for 2.5 years, specialising in provision of strategic support to the Company’s Leadership in terms of operational and technical safety, compliance, and business continuity. Steve is the focal point for the Port’s inclusion on both the UK and EU Lists of Ship Recycling Facilities. With a background in offshore emergency response and over 15 years of practical experience in operational safety, he has recently overseen safe operations and compliance with legislative requirements and regulatory licensing whilst the Port facilitated the decommissioning and recycling of the Northern Producer Floating Production Facility and the currently underway £42.2 million drydock extension and land reclamation project. Prior to this, Steve worked in operational safety roles onboard FPSOs across the UK, West Africa, Brazil, Mexico, North America, and New Zealand where he was known for revitalising the organisation’s emergency response planning and organisation. Steve holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Integrated Emergency Management from FIOR, accredited by the University of Stirling.

CHRISTOPHE
SLIM

Christophe is a Senior Advisor at Innovation Norway. He supports Norwegian companies in their international growth and market entry efforts in France, with a particular focus on the maritime and defense sectors. Christophe works at the intersection of business development, public affairs and international partnership building, helping Norwegian technology providers connect with French industrial, governmental and institutional stakeholders. He has particular expertise in green maritime technologies, decarbonisation, ports and shipbuilding.

VINICIUS
PATEL

Vinicius is an executive with over 20 years of experience in the ports, oil and gas, and logistics sectors, with strong performance across different markets and organizations in C-level positions. Since 2019, he has been the Director of Port Administration at Porto do Açu Operações, responsible for maritime management, infrastructure, port services, and decommissioning. In these roles, he leads the challenge of operating and developing Porto do Açu with operational efficiency and high safety standards, always aligned with the best ESG practices. Additionally, he serves as Vice-President of the IAPH (International Association of Ports and Harbors) for Central and South America, is a board member of EFEN Marine (a joint venture between BP and Prumo), and is the Chairman of the board for the ESI – Environment Ship Index initiative.

ANJA
BINKOFSKI

Anja is a Doctoral Candidate at the German Maritime Museum (DSM)/Leibniz-Institute for Maritime History in Bremerhaven, Germany. She studied Transcultural Studies (M.A.) at the University of Bremen. During her studies, she found her passion for Maritime Anthropology. In her Doctoral Research, Anja Binkofski explores the world of ship recycling in Germany and questions the different kinds of value influencing the emergence and expansion of the ship recycling industry.

FRANK STUER-
LAURIDSEN

Dr Frank Stuer-Lauridsen is a biologist from Copenhagen University (1988) and a Ph. D. in ecotoxicology from Odense University (1996). Frank has worked with the management of hazardous materials, decommissioning and recycling for the past 25 years. After 15 years in applied research and consulting, he founded the maritime environmental consultancy LITEHAUZ in 2007 and remains CEO of the company. He is also co-founder of the companies MARHAZ (inspection), Ballast Water Monitoring (sensor) and HullROVER (in water cleaning robot).With his colleagues in LITEHAUZ he focused on the key environmental issues in shipping and global sustainable ship recycling has been amongst the top priorities. In May 2009 LITEHAUZ carried out the first Inventory of Hazardous Materials in the World after the new guidelines only days after the Hong Kong Convention was adopted. In 2019 with the implementation of EU Ship recycling regulation Frank placed the inspection, maintenance and supervision activities for IHM and yards in the company MARHAZ (www.marhaz.com). He is keenly engaged in automation and robotics in the shipping environment. Dr. Stuer-Lauridsen is a frequent technical advisor to the Danish delegation to the International Maritime Organization and the issues of shipping and environment. Today, LITEHAUZ engages in R&D projects and assists frontrunner companies with development and implementation of Best Available Technologies in recycling and green transition of shipping.

ISABELLE
RADOVAN

Isabelle is a Policy Advisor at Recycling Europe, where she focuses on metal recycling and leads the organisation’s ship recycling working group. She previously gained experience in circular economy policy through traineeships at the European Commission and the European Parliament. Isabelle holds a master’s degree in European Affairs from Sciences Po Lille and the University of Münster.

WOLFRAM
GUNTERMANN

Captain Wolfram graduated with his Masters Licence at the Marine Polytechnic Elfleth/Germany in combination with a scholarship at the Plymouth Polytechnic of Marine Science. He also received his Engineers Licence at the Hamburg Polytechnic in order to serve as Ship Operation Officer holding a dual licence. After having set his feet for the first time on deck a vessel in 1979 he went through the ranks receiving his first command as Master in 1996. He also took various assignments ashore as Trio Tonnage Center London and Director Marine Operations in the Hapag-Lloyd America Office in Piscataway/New Jersey for almost nine years. After repatriation to the Hamburg based Headquarters the current function as Director Regulatory Affairs was taken with a lot of challenging opportunities emerging in light of new environmental legislation and initiatives.

CHRISTOPHE
LEFEBVRE

Atlante Marine is a new investment fund dedicated to the decarbonization of European maritime and river vessels. This venture, combination of shipping and investment experts, is thriving to fill in the equity financing gap which shipowners may face when renewing or retrofitting their fleets. Prior to launching Atlante Marine, Christophe worked as Director in the French M&A advisory firm Financière de Courcelles focusing on Maritime and Infrastructure transactions. And prior to that he was Manager at EY infrastructure project finance team based in Paris.

RASMUS
NORDQVIST

Rasmus Nordqvist was elected to the European Parliament in 2024, representing Denmark’s Green Left in the Greens/EFA group. Rasmus is an active member of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and Budgetary Control (CONT) as well as a substitute in the Committee on Fisheries (PECH) and Budgets (BUDG). He is also an elected committee member of the European Green Party. Before joining the European Parliament, he was a Member of the Danish Parliament from 2015 to 2022 and previously worked as a fashion designer.

DANIELA
KÖSTER

As manager of the German ZIM-Innovation network ShipRec (Officially funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy), Daniela is responsible for the innovation development and collaboration of industry and research institutes within the maritime industry at EurA AG. Focus of Danielas work is the integration of sustainable, digital and automation solutions into an economical way of ship recycling in Germany. The active involvement of the German authorities in the discussion of the network facilitates the way for innovation and supports the German way of ship recycling in a competitive international market and strengthen the European industrial resilience.

TIM
REEVE

Tim is the CSO at Bawat A/S, a Danish company specializing in ballast water compliance solutions on land and at sea. He is responsible for growth strategy, sales, and marketing. With seventeen years of experience in management roles at A.P. Moller Maersk and Babcock International, Tim has successfully led major retrofits, conversions, newbuilding projects, and initiatives aimed at enhancing vessel efficiency and sustainability. Tim holds a degree in Marine Engineering from Newcastle University, England.

NIELS
KÄMPNY

Niels is Head of the Departement “Emission control, Circular economy” in the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Change and Energy, Federal State of Lower Saxony in Hannover. Previously, he has served among others as Head of the Departement “Industry, Marine economy“ in the Ministry of Economy and Transport of Lower Saxony in Hannover and as Head of Administration of the state representation of Lower Saxony in Berlin.

MARTIN
VERBOOM

As a dedicated member of Damen’s Research, Development & Innovation team, Martin Verboom brings a strong focus on integrating circularity and material optimization into ship design. He is actively involved in the CirclesOfLife project, co-leading WP4, which pioneers the Ship Lifecycle Passport (SLP) and Ship Circular Materials Passport (SCMP) initiatives. Martin’s work supports the adoption of innovative passport standards and regulations, such as ISO-59000 series, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), and Digital Product Passport (DPP), driving the maritime sector toward more sustainable and accountable practices.

PING
TEO

Ping is the Decommissioning Manager at IOGP since March 2021. In her current role, she manages the activities of the IOGP global decommissioning committee and represents IOGP at various regulatory forums. Originally from Brunei, Ping is a project manager with 15years career with Shell prior to IOGP and has experience leading studies and execution of major greenfield, brownfield and decommissioning projects in Brunei and New Zealand.

HUGO
DE STOOP

Hugo holds a Master in Engineering (ULB), an MBA (INSEAD) and a Certificate in Corporate venture and Innovation (INSEAD). He was the CEO of Euronav from 2019 until 2023, the leading crude oil tanker shipping company that he joined in 2004 and where he held various positions including CFO between 2008 and 2019. He started his career with Mustad Intl Group, where he worked as a Project Manager on various assignment in the U.S., EU and LatAm. He founded First Tuesday in America, the world’s largest meeting place for high tech entrepreneurs, venture capitalists & companies. He then joined Davos Financial Corp. London, an external fund manager of UBS Group where he became an Associate and later a Vice President. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Marine Metals.

JOHN
JACOBSEN

John is one of the founders and CEO of Nordic Circles, a company that upcycles steel from ships and oil rigs into building products. Through their unique process they deliver building products with almost zero Co2 emissions. They designed and produced the first upcycled fish hotel which was acclaimed world-changing idea by FastCompany in 2021.

UDAY
YELLAPURKAR

Capt. Uday is the Founder and Chairman of EEC. He is an experienced maritime professional with several decades in the shipping industry, having served on different types of vessels, including VLCC, Product/Chemical, Suezmax/OBO, Container/Heavy Lift, and Livestock carriers. His career at sea took him from cadet to captain, giving him deep operational knowledge across vessel types and maritime environments. Beyond his seafaring career, Capt. Yellapurkar has held senior shore-based management roles covering shipping operations, shipbuilding orders, trading, logistics, and capital raising. With more than 20 years of executive experience, including positions as CEO and Chairman, he has built a strong track record in leading maritime organisations and supporting their strategic growth.

MARCELO
DOURADO

Marcelo is a senior executive with over 22 years of experience in the upstream Oil & Gas industry. He currently leads the Decommissioning Division at SBM Offshore, where he is responsible for driving strategic initiatives and delivering end-of-life asset solutions. Throughout his career, Marcelo has held leadership roles at SBM Offshore, Ensco (now Valaris), and Subsea 7, with extensive experience across Brazil and Angola. His expertise spans asset lifecycle management, offshore operations, and the execution of large-scale strategic projects in demanding environments. Marcelo holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), a master’s degree in project management, and a postgraduate Diploma in Strategy and Innovation from the University of Oxford. He actively contributes to the advancement of the industry as Co-Chair of the FPSO Decommissioning & Recycling Sub Committee of IOGP.

DOUWE
AMELS

Douwe has maritime blood running through his veins as a member of the Amels family with a shipbuilder as a grandfather and a maritime entrepreneur as a father. For a while he even was a Marine Technology student himself. He ended up taking a slightly different route though, earning his Master of Law degree in business law. He is now Business Developer on Sustainable Shipping at TNO, an independent, not-for-profit research organisation based in the Netherlands.

ROSANNE VAN
HOUWELINGEN

Rosanne is Innovation Project Manager at Maritime & Offshore NL, which is the trade association for the Dutch maritime and offshore industry. She advances circularity and sustainability in maritime and offshore sectors by strengthening EU shipbuilding through partnerships, innovation management, training development, and clear communication among industry, research, and policy stakeholders.

RENAUD
GAUDEL

As a Research Engineer within Damen’s Research, Development & Innovation department, Renaud focuses on translating circular economy principles into practical, measurable solutions for ship design. With a strong engineering background in structural analysis and acoustics, he now leads and coordinates research on circular vessel interiors, bridging technical performance, material choices, and lifecycle thinking. Renaud is the project manager of the Circular Crew Cabin DAMEN research initiative and a key contributor to the Circles Of Life project, where he works on the development and validation of the circularity aspects within Ship Circular Material Passport (SCMP) and Ship Lifecycle Passport (SLP) frameworks. His work emphasizes system-level circularity assessment, design-for-disassembly, and the integration of material and component data into passport-based approaches aligned with emerging regulations such as ESPR and Digital Product Passports (DPP), supporting Damen’s transition toward scalable and realistic circular shipbuilding.

AURORA
ROSSI

Aurora is a Policy adviser at industriAll Europe, the European trade union federation representing workers in manufacturing, mining, and energy sectors. I work on international trade, industrial policies, with a particular focus on workers right. I am responsible for the shipbuilding and maritime equipment sector including dealing with the European Social Dialogue for the sector.

JOHANNES
THRANE

Johannes has worked within the North Sea decommissioning industry since the start of his AF-Gruppen career in 2004, most recently working in the role of Chief Sustainability & Communications Officer and Head of Special Projects for AF Offshore Decom. During his career Johannes has been instrumental in the successful execution of several major EPRD projects working in a variety of roles including Offshore Construction Manager, Project Manager, Project Director and VP Commercial. Johannes has a Master of Science degree from the Norwegian University of Science & Technology and has attended INSEAD’s Management Acceleration Programme.

HELEN
PERIVIER

Helen is a qualified navigation officer and has ten years of experience serving on ships as a maritime professional and in environmental research, advocacy and education tours. She successfully led the Greenpeace campaign on the European REACH chemicals legislation and has been working on the shipbreaking issue for more than a decade. Helen has a deep understanding of campaigning on environmental issues at both the international and the European level. She holds a M.Sc. in Integrated Coastal Ecosystem Science, Policy & Management from the University of New Hampshire and a ALM in Sustainability & Environmental Management from the Harvard Extension School. Helen is one of the five founding members of the Platform.

BERT
VAN GRIEKEN

Bert is the commercial director of Sea2Cradle.Through his involvement in a large range of projects for various owners, finding and managing the best solution for responsible recycling of their end-of- life-assets, Bert has gained in-depth knowledge of all aspects of ship and offshore recycling.He holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology and has been working in the maritime and shipping sector since 1995.During over 20 years in container shipping he held various commercial positions for Nedlloyd, P&O Nedlloyd and Maersk in the Netherlands and abroad, after which he moved to inland container barging, developing solutions for zero-emission transportation, before joining Sea2Cradle in 2021.

INGVILD
JENSSEN

Ingvild has been the NGO Shipbreaking Platform’s spokesperson and represented the coalition in negotiations and advocacy work at the United Nations and European level since the inception of the organisation in 2005. She holds a MSc in Political Science from the University of Oslo with social anthropology and international law as minors. Prior to joining the Platform, Ingvild was part of ARENA, a leading research program on European policies, where she contributed to the CIDEL project and held courses in political theory for graduate students.