CBSS Appoints New Deputy Director General of its Secretariat

Mr Markus Helavuori has been appointed Deputy Director General at the CBSS Secretariat, starting on 1 April 2025. He has 20 years of experience in policy and regulation at national and international levels. 

Before assuming his role at the CBSS Secretariat, he served as Deputy Executive Secretary and Professional Secretary at the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, also known as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM).

At the HELCOM Secretariat in Helsinki, from 2018 to 2025, he was responsible for matters related to sea-based activities, including intergovernmental cooperation on maritime affairs, spill response, and submerged munitions, among other areas.

From 2011 to 2017, Mr Helavuori served as a Technical Officer and Group Lead at the Secretariat of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London, a UN specialised agency responsible for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution from ships.

He also served the Government of Finland for more than seven years. At the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Finnish Maritime Administration, and the Transport Safety Agency (now the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency), he contributed to legislative and policy development and was part of the Finnish delegation in international negotiations within the IMO, the EU, and HELCOM.

Mr Helavuori is a Finnish national and holds a master’s degree in environmental and marine biology from Åbo Akademi University in Finland.