The 46-year-old fully qualified lawyer succeeds President and Professor Dr Karin Kammann-Klippstein, who retired at the end of 2022. Helge Heegewald in an initial statement on the occasion of his imminent assumption of office: "The BSH is a very diverse, well-connected and optimally positioned authority. Its spectrum ranges from numerous tasks in the field of maritime shipping to supporting the accelerated expansion of offshore wind energy, marine science and nautical hydrography. It therefore covers topics that are particularly important for our country in the future. A lot depends on the future viability of this central maritime authority, especially when it comes to implementing the energy transition, but also in all matters relating to digitalisation in the maritime sector and marine protection. I am therefore very grateful to be able to contribute to the success of these important tasks as the future head of the BSH. I am very much looking forward to the challenges ahead and to working with a great team in Hamburg and Rostock." Around 1000 employees from more than 100 professions work at the two offices and on five ships.
Professional experience in the political field
Heegewaldt has broad professional experience in the policy-related field, in cooperation between the federal and state governments and in ministerial administration. Before joining the BSH, Mr Heegewaldt held various positions at the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the German Bundestag. Most recently, he was head of the personnel department at the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs.
After studying law in Berlin and Rome and completing his legal training at the Berlin Court of Appeal and at the German Embassy in Washington DC, he initially worked in the Citizens' Advice Centre of the European Commission Representation in Berlin. He then worked in the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the office of the First Parliamentary Secretary. In addition to coordinating the European implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, he was primarily responsible for negotiations in the Conciliation Committee with the federal states in the search for compromises in ongoing legislative procedures. He then joined the Cabinet and Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, where he supported the Federal Environment Ministry's legislative projects, particularly in the Environment Committee of the German Bundestag and the Bundesrat. This also concerned the legislative projects on the energy transition. As a personal advisor, initially at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, he prepared the Parliamentary State Secretary in particular in the areas of energy transition and climate protection, water management, waste and resource protection, environment and health, chemical safety and national and international environmental policy. After moving to the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, he contributed his expertise in areas such as electromobility and road safety.
BSH Annual Report 2022
Even before the appointment of the new BSH President, Germany's most important shipping authority published its 2022 Annual Report on 17 January, in the foreword to which Heegewaldt's predecessor Dr Karin Kammann-Klippstein bids farewell after four years at the helm of the BSH and almost 40 years in public service. Heat, storm surges and extremely low tides kept the maritime authority very busy last year. For the North Sea, last summer was the warmest since 1997, with surface temperatures more than one degree above the long-term average and the Baltic Sea even 1.5 degrees above average over a large area. The BSH also describes the number of storm surges as unusually high. Six storm surges occurred between 30 January and 7 February, including two severe ones. This was shortly followed by the longest chain of storm surges since 1990 due to storm "Zeynep" with seven storm surges. A PDF of the 64-page annual report can be downloaded here. here can be downloaded free of charge from the BSH website.
Further information: www.bsh.de
