Are is engineering smarter marine thrusters at Ocein

Are Moa Gausen being a product developer with us, working on thruster development. He has a mechanical engineering degree from NTNU and comes from a position at Alva, where they make the electrical components for marine thrusters.

He says that at Ocein, they have great freedom to solve problems and develop good products that deliver results. The goal is to make the thruster as simple and robust as possible.

– It's especially rewarding to work in a field where the need is significant, and where we know that what we develop is actually being used, says Are.

Today, many in the maritime industry struggle with older thruster solutions that don't get the job done well enough. Being able to find better alternatives to give customers better solutions, there's a lot of good motivation and drive in that.

Thrusters for vessels at sea

Marine thrusters are used for many purposes. They can provide propulsion, manoeuvrability, and stability to a vessel, whether it's a boat on the surface or an underwater vehicle in the depths.

Whether we're developing ROVs, net cleaners, or thrusters, the goal is the same: Get the job done! We want to develop technology for the marine industry that keeps production running.

High performance, minimal downtime, integrates with ROV systems

Thrusters in the marine industry are often subject to wear and tear. A single component breaks, and everything stops. Are and the rest of Ocein work to make the thruster as simple as possible, so fewer parts can break.

We wanted to develop a thruster with good reliability and easy maintenance, with more than sufficient thrust in a smaller form factor. A compact package that's easy to integrate into any ROV or marine system.

– And we're working to deliver all of this at a fair price, that's always a win for the customer, says Are.

A thruster with low noise and high efficiency

Another important aspect is noise. For underwater operations, you want to disturb the surroundings, especially fish and marine life, as little as possible. Additionally, efficiency is critical, how much thrust you get from each watt of energy.

The newest thruster we've developed, StealthThrust 100, is what's called a "rim-drive thruster." Here, the motor sits around the propeller, with no need for traditional shaft transmission. This gives the epoxy-filled motor extremely good cooling, which allows high power given its size.

– The result is a simple, compact, and powerful thruster, says Are.