Salt Ship Design

What Salt Ship Design does

Salt Ship Design AS is a privately held Norwegian ship design firm founded in 2015 and headquartered in Stord, with additional offices in Bergen, Norway and Novi Sad, Serbia (integrated via the 2021 acquisition of Albatross Ship Design). The company delivers tailor-made vessel designs across a wide portfolio of specialized segments, including aquaculture (live fish carriers, well boats, harvest vessels), offshore wind (SOVs and C-CSOVs), cable laying, fishing (purse seiners and trawlers), subsea and construction (OCVs), well intervention, platform supply (PSVs, AHTS), accommodation, FPSOs, naval support, ferries/ROPAX, explorer cruise, and unmanned surface vessels (USVs). Its technical differentiation rests on segment-optimized hull forms and proprietary design packages incorporating battery-hybrid and methanol-ready propulsion, dynamic positioning (DP), active heave compensation (AHC) cranes, and fish welfare and biosecurity features tailored to aquaculture operations. These designs have won multiple industry awards, including OSV of the Year (2015, 2018) and Ship of the Year (2017).

The firm's business model is project-based professional services, selling comprehensive design packages (concept, class, and detailed engineering) directly to ship owners and shipyards under multi-year contracts, with pricing quoted per vessel based on complexity. Salt operates a sales-led, B2B go-to-market, leveraging direct relationships, industry events, and its website to secure contracts. It does not own shipyards; instead, it delivers design packages to a global network of channel shipyards including PaxOcean and Wuchang in China, Freire, Zamakona, and Gondan in Spain, and Cemre in Turkey, with vessels ultimately delivered to enterprise customers in Norway, the UK, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Canada, and elsewhere. Recent strategic moves include expansion into passenger, ferry, merchant, naval, and green-shipping segments via a new Bergen team, partnerships with Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace for the Royal Norwegian Navy and with Kongsberg/AMS for the Canadian Coast Guard, and ongoing repeat orders from tier-one clients such as Edda Wind, DEME, and Trident Aqua Services.

Name

Salt Ship Design

Legal name

Salt Ship Design AS

Website

https://saltship.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Salt Ship Design AS is a Norwegian naval architecture firm founded in 2015 that delivers tailor-made vessel designs for aquaculture, offshore wind, offshore energy, fishing, cable laying, naval, and ferry clients, shipping complete design packages to shipyards worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Naval Architecture & Marine Design Services

NAICS

Industrial Design Services (541420), Industrial Design Services (54142), Boat Building (336612)

SIC

Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730)

akta.pro primary industry

Project Management & Owner’s Engineering / Technical Consultancy (Spec Writing, Bid Support, Site Support) (IMAJAGAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Stability, Weight & Load Analysis (Intact/Damage Stability, Weight Control) (IMAJAGAI), Electrical Engineering & Power Distribution (Generation, Switchboards, Cabling, Lighting) (IMAJAGAF), Safety, Risk & Compliance Engineering (SOLAS, Class Rules, HAZID/HAZOP, FMEA) (IMAJAGAJ)

Keywords

• Naval architecture services
• Ship design engineering
• Vessel design
• Offshore vessel design
• Marine engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Stord Island

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ship Design Services: Salt Ship Design provides comprehensive ship design services including concept design, class design, and detailed engineering. They deliver complete design packages to shipyards and ship owners, with pricing typically based on project scope and vessel complexity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Salt Ship Design provides comprehensive ship design services including concept design, class design, and detailed engineering. They deliver complete design packages to shipyards and ship owners globally, specializing in tailor-made vessel designs for aquaculture, offshore wind, fishing, subsea construction, naval support, and other specialized maritime segments. Their services span the full design lifecycle from concept through to engineering documentation for ship construction.

Product overview

Salt Ship Design is a Norwegian ship design company offering tailor-made vessel designs across multiple maritime segments. Their portfolio includes specialized vessels for aquaculture (live fish carriers, well boats), offshore wind (SOVs, C-CSOVs), oil and gas (PSVs, AHTS, OCVs, well intervention vessels), fishing (purse seiners, trawlers), cable laying, seismic operations, accommodation, naval support, ferries, and exploration. The company provides comprehensive design services from concept through detail design and engineering packages for shipyards globally. They focus on optimizing vessel performance for specific operational requirements, with emphasis on sustainability, fuel efficiency, and green technologies including battery hybrid systems, LNG propulsion, and alternative fuel preparations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aquaculture Vessels Design Custom-designed vessel plans for fish farming operators, including live fish carriers, wellboats, and harvest vessels with fish welfare, biosecurity, and gentle fish handling features. Used by salmon farming operators globally.
• Offshore Wind Vessels Design Design of Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) and Commissioning Service Operation Vessels (C-CSOVs) for offshore wind farm construction, commissioning, and maintenance operations. Features walk-to-work systems and crew transfer capabilities.
• Cable Laying Vessels Design Specialized vessel designs for submarine cable installation, maintenance, and repair, including inter-array and HVDC cable laying capabilities with cable carousel systems. Used by submarine cable installers and utilities.
• Fishing Vessels Design Design of purse seiners, trawlers, and pelagic fishing vessels with advanced fish handling systems, hybrid propulsion, and fuel efficiency features. Used by commercial fishing operators.
• Subsea & Construction Vessels Design Offshore Construction Vessels (OCVs) equipped for subsea installation, ROV support, and heavy lift operations with active heave compensated cranes. Used by subsea construction contractors and offshore operators.
• Well Intervention Vessels Design Vessel designs for oil and gas well intervention operations with multi-purpose towers and subsea crane systems. Used by oil & gas operators and intervention contractors.
• Seismic Vessels Design Survey and seismic support vessel designs for offshore geophysical data collection operations. Used by geophysical survey contractors and oil & gas exploration companies.
• Platform Supply Vessels (MPSV) Design Multipurpose platform supply vessel designs for offshore oil and gas operations with cargo handling and crew transfer capabilities. Used by offshore supply operators.
• Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessels (AHTS) Design High bollard pull vessel designs for offshore anchor handling, mooring operations, and towing of rigs. Used by offshore support vessel operators.
• Accommodation Vessels Design Offshore accommodation and flotel vessel designs with high-capacity lodging for offshore personnel, walk-to-work gangways, and helideck facilities. Used by offshore accommodation operators.
• Explorer Vessels Design Expedition cruise vessel designs for exploration and adventure tourism operations in challenging environments. Used by cruise and expedition operators.
• Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) Design Floating production unit designs for offshore oil and gas field development with enhanced motion characteristics for harsh environments. Used by oil & gas field developers.
• Naval Support Vessels Design Standardized vessel designs for naval defense operations developed in collaboration with defense contractors such as Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace. Used by national navies.
• Ferries and ROPAX Vessels Design Passenger ferry and roll-on/roll-off passenger vessel designs for coastal and short-sea transportation. Used by ferry operators and passenger transport companies.
• Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) Design Design of remotely operated and autonomous surface vessels for subsea inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) operations, offering significant emissions reduction compared to conventional offshore vessels. Used by subsea operators and IMR contractors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Battery hybrid propulsion systems significantly reduce emissions compared to conventional vessels
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DEME GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Salt Ship Design is designing Offshore Construction Vessels (OCVs) for DEME Group, including vessels based on SALT 310 OCV design. This is the second Salt designed vessel in the DEME fleet.
• Trident Aqua ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Trident Aqua Services has ordered hybrid live fish carriers designed by Salt Ship Design, with the vessel to be built at Zamakona Shipyard. This is the fourth vessel Trident has commissioned.
• Kongsberg Defence and AerospacecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Salt Ship Design collaborated with Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace to design new standardized vessels for the Royal Norwegian Navy, awarded by the Norwegian Defence Material Agency.
• Edda WindcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEdda Wind has ordered multiple CSOVs and SOVs designed by Salt. By 2025, Edda Wind will have 9 Salt-designed windfarm vessels in operation. The partnership focuses on environmentally friendly vessel designs for offshore wind operations.
• Østensjø RedericoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerØstensjø Rederi operates Edda Wind vessels and has ordered multiple Salt-designed vessels including accommodation vessels and offshore wind support vessels.
• PaxOcean ShipyardcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMultiple MPSV and OCV vessels are being built at PaxOcean's shipyard in Zhoushan, China. Salt provides complete design packages for vessels built at this yard.
• Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSalt has delivered multiple vessel designs to be built at Wuchang Shipbuilding in China, including OCVs and ECVs for various clients.
• Freire ShipyardminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSalt designed the Napier S&B 700t harvest vessel being built at Freire Shipyard in Spain.
• Cemre ShipyardminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMultiple vessels including live fish carriers and fishing vessels have been built at Cemre Shipyard in Turkey.
• Zamakona ShipyardminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSalt designs have been built at Zamakona Shipyard in Spain, including vessels for various aquaculture and fishing clients.
• Gondan ShipbuildersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGondan Shipbuilders in Spain has constructed Edda Fjord and other Salt-designed vessels including CSOVs for Edda Wind.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• BMT: International maritime design and engineering consultancy with naval architecture capability across offshore wind, defense, and subsea; competes with Salt on design consultancy contracts for vessel programs.
• Wärtsilä: Large marine technology and ship design provider with vessel concepts and integrated solutions across offshore, wind, and merchant segments; competes with Salt at the broader ship design and propulsion system level.
• Vard (Fincantieri): Major global shipbuilder with dedicated naval architecture and design services across offshore wind, aquaculture, and offshore vessels; competes with Salt on offshore wind and specialized vessel design while offering in-house construction capacity.
• Kongsberg Maritime: Broader Norwegian maritime technology and ship design player; already collaborates with Salt on the Royal Norwegian Navy project but otherwise competes for integrated vessel system and design contracts.

Direct peers

• Skipsteknisk: Norwegian ship design house specializing in offshore, fishing, and specialized vessels; directly comparable to Salt in the fishing and offshore segments and competes for similar Norwegian shipowner contracts.
• Knud E. Hansen: Danish naval architecture firm designing specialized vessels including offshore, fishing, and passenger ferries; directly comparable to Salt in design-only delivery of purpose-built vessels for European clients.
• Dykstra Naval Architects: Dutch naval architecture firm specializing in custom yachts, offshore, and specialized commercial vessels; directly comparable to Salt in delivering high-end, tailor-made vessel designs for demanding owners.
• Havyard: Norwegian ship design and shipbuilding group active in offshore wind, fishing, and offshore vessels; directly comparable in scope, geography, and customer base to Salt's Norwegian ship design practice.
• Ulstein: Norwegian ship design and shipbuilding firm with a comparable portfolio of specialized offshore, wind, and vessel designs; directly competes with Salt for offshore wind SOV/CSOV design contracts and operates a similar asset-light design-plus-yard model.
• Glosten: Independent US naval architecture and marine engineering firm with offshore wind, ferry, and specialized vessel expertise; comparable to Salt as a focused, design-led consultancy serving demanding operational requirements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/saltshipdesign
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/salt-ship-design-as

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Salt Ship Design