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| Kleven Maritime | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kleven Maritime |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Shipbuilding |
| Founded | 1853 |
| Founder | Ulstein family |
| Headquarters | Ulsteinvik, Norway |
| Key people | Leif Kleven |
| Products | Offshore vessels, ferries, naval ships |
| Num employees | 2,000 |
Kleven Maritime is a Norwegian shipbuilding and maritime engineering company based in Ulsteinvik, Norway. It has built a portfolio of offshore vessels, ferries, and naval vessels for clients across Europe, Asia, and North America. The company competes with major yards and suppliers in the shipbuilding industry and collaborates with classification societies and maritime insurers.
Founded in the mid-19th century in Møre og Romsdal, the firm evolved alongside regional shipbuilders such as Ulstein Group and Havila Shipyard. During the early 20th century the yard built coastal steamers for operators like Hurtigruten and military craft for the Royal Norwegian Navy. Post-World War II reconstruction saw cooperation with firms including Kongsberg Gruppen and Aker Solutions to supply vessels for the emerging North Sea oil sector. In the 1970s and 1980s Kleven Maritime expanded into specialised offshore construction alongside contemporaries Stolt-Nielsen and Fred. Olsen & Co.. The 1990s brought modernization and partnerships with ship designers such as Vard Design, Rolls-Royce Marine, and Ulstein Design & Solutions. During the 2000s the yard completed contracts for owners including Siem Offshore, DOF ASA, and Bourbon Offshore while adapting to regulatory regimes from Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and Lloyd's Register. The 2010s and 2020s featured orders for newbuild ferries and windfarm support vessels for operators like Equinor, Ørsted, and GE Renewable Energy and involvement in programmes with navies including the Royal Norwegian Navy and export customers in Brazil and Canada.
Kleven Maritime offers newbuilding, repair, conversion, and naval maintenance services. It provides engineering with partners such as ABB, Siemens, MAN Energy Solutions, Wärtsilä, and GE Power Conversion and uses classification input from DNV, Lloyd's Register, and Bureau Veritas. Project management teams liaise with owners including Statoil (now Equinor), TotalEnergies, Shell plc, and BP. The yard handles lifecycle services for platform supply vessels (PSV), anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) units, cruise tenders for operators like MSC Cruises and Carnival Corporation & plc, and RoPax ferries for companies such as Color Line and Fjord1. Kleven Maritime’s procurement chain has included suppliers like Kongsberg Maritime, Trelleborg, Schottel, Ulstein Group, and Fincantieri.
Kleven Maritime's completed vessels include offshore construction vessels for DOF ASA, subsea support vessels for TechnipFMC, windfarm service operation vessels (SOV) for Boskalis, and ferries for Norled. Notable projects involved designs from Ulstein Design & Solutions, Havyard Design, Kongsberg Maritime, and Vard. The yard has built naval craft in collaboration with Naval Group and delivered patrol vessels for coast guard operators such as Kystvakten and export orders to Brazilian Navy and Royal Canadian Navy programmes. Completed tonnage served cruise lines like Hurtigruten and commercial operators such as Berge Bulk and Grieg Star. Refits have been performed for vessels operated by Wilhelmsen Ship Management and Wärtsilä Voyage customers.
Primary facilities are located in Ulsteinvik and neighbouring sites in Hareid and Gurskøy. Infrastructure investments have included large dry docks, gantry cranes from manufacturers like Liebherr, and fabrication halls accommodating block construction used by yards such as Fincantieri and Meyer Werft. The yard maintains subcontractor networks across Rogaland, Vestland, and international suppliers from Germany, Spain, Poland, and China. Adjacent marine logistics and testing rely on cooperation with ports including Ålesund, Kristiansund, and Bergen and towage partners like Svitzer.
The company has been part of regional ownership structures tied to families and investment groups similar to Ulstein Group and private equity firms active in maritime consolidation such as Altor Equity Partners and EQT Partners. Strategic alliances and joint ventures have been formed with engineering firms including Aker Solutions, Kongsberg Gruppen, and Siem Offshore. The board has included executives with backgrounds from DNV, StatoilHydro, and Kongsberg Maritime. Financial oversight and compliance engage auditors and legal advisors from firms like PwC, KPMG, Ernst & Young, and Deloitte.
Kleven Maritime’s revenue streams derive from newbuilding contracts, repair margins, and service agreements with operators like Equinor, Statkraft, and Ørsted. Major contracts have been announced with shipowners such as Siem Offshore, Solstad Offshore, and Rem Offshore, sometimes co-funded by export credit agencies like GIEK (Norwegian Export Credit Guarantee Agency) and backed by commercial banks including DNB Bank and Nordea. The yard has navigated industry cycles influenced by oil price swings tied to events such as the 2014 oil price crash and the COVID-19 pandemic; mitigation measures have included restructuring similar to measures used by Aker and VARD. Public procurement and government-supported naval programmes have provided periods of stable orderbook comparable to contracts awarded to Navantia and BAE Systems.
Kleven Maritime adheres to certifications and standards from ISO bodies and classification societies such as DNV and Lloyd's Register. Environmental initiatives reference compliance with regulations from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), including IMO 2020 fuel sulphur limits and ballast water rules under the Ballast Water Management Convention. Safety regimes align with guidance from Norwegian Maritime Authority and occupational standards used by ILO and regional agencies. The yard has pursued low-emission vessel designs cooperating with technology providers like ABB and MAN Energy Solutions and partnered with renewable developers such as Equinor and Ørsted on SOV programmes. Continuous improvement programmes mirror practices at yards like Meyer Werft and Fincantieri.