What Orcina does

Orcina Ltd is a privately held UK software company founded in 1986 and headquartered in Ulverston, Cumbria. It develops and sells OrcaFlex, a Windows-based application for the dynamic analysis of offshore marine systems, including risers (SCRs, TTRs, hybrids, umbilicals), mooring systems (spread, turret, SPM, jetty), installation scenarios, and towed systems. The platform supports time domain and frequency domain analysis, multi-body hydrodynamic interaction, and integration with external diffraction tools (WAMIT, AQWA) and VIV analysis (SHEAR7). Built-in code compliance checks (API RP 2RD, API RP 1111, DNV OS F101/F201, PD 8010), Python/MATLAB/Excel automation interfaces, and a comprehensive example library serve a customer base of naval architects, engineers, consultants, and designers across oil & gas, floating offshore wind, oceanographic, seismic, defence, and aquaculture verticals. The product portfolio is anchored by OrcaFlex and extends to OrcaWave (bundled diffraction/radiation solver since OrcaFlex 11.0), Distributed OrcaFlex (parallel batch processing), OrcaBend (bend stiffener modelling), and FASTlink (external tool integration).

The company operates a hybrid go-to-market combining direct enterprise sales (accommodating customers requiring hundreds of licences down to individual engineers), a network of regional agents for international coverage, multilingual training programmes (English, Portuguese; with additional regions scheduled), and annual User Group Meeting webinars tied to major releases. Revenue is generated primarily through Maintenance and Update Service (MUS) subscriptions billed annually, supplemented by paid professional training services and a free demo version that supports top-of-funnel evaluation. There is no public funding history and no evidence of institutional ownership, M&A, or restructuring; product development has been continuous since 1986, with major releases on an approximately annual cadence and ongoing investment in floating offshore wind capabilities, advanced graphics (DirectX 12 rendering), and HPC scaling.

Customer relationships are reinforced by a 39-year incumbency, the absence of credible turnkey substitutes, accumulated model files and in-house expertise that create switching frictions, and industry-standard validation across major design codes. The company self-describes as a global leader in its field with operations spanning research, analysis, and engineering across multiple offshore verticals.

Name

Orcina

Legal name

Orcina Ltd

Website

https://orcina.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Orcina Ltd is a UK-based software company founded in 1986 that develops OrcaFlex, the leading specialist application for dynamic analysis of offshore marine systems, including risers, mooring systems, installation planning, and floating offshore wind. It sells primarily on annual MUS subscriptions to engineering firms, operators, and consultants across oil & gas, renewables, defence, and related offshore verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Engineering Simulation Software

akta.pro primary industry

Navigation, Communications & Integrated Bridge Systems Engineering (IMAJAGAH)

Keywords

• Marine dynamic analysis
• Offshore engineering software
• Riser mooring analysis
• Naval architecture software
• Floating offshore wind

Headquarters

HQ city

Ulverston

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Licensing (MUS Contracts): OrcaFlex is licensed under Maintenance and Update Service (MUS) contracts. Clients with up-to-date MUS contracts receive software upgrades, typically delivered via electronic download with installation instructions sent by email. The software supports both dongle-based (legacy) and FlexNet floating license systems.
2. Training Services: Orcina offers both open enrollment training courses (Introduction to OrcaFlex, Floating Offshore Wind Turbine training, Python Interface workshops) and client-specific on-site or online training. Pricing varies by location and format, with contacts listed for each training schedule.
3. Software Demos and Documentation: A demonstration version of OrcaFlex is available for download. Full simulation files and example models (including PDFs with descriptions) are freely available from the website, supporting evaluation and adoption.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Orcina develops and sells OrcaFlex, a Windows-based software application for dynamic analysis of marine systems including risers, mooring systems, towed systems, and offshore installation procedures. The software supports time domain and frequency domain analysis, multi-body hydrodynamic interaction, fatigue analysis, and built-in design code compliance checks. Orcina also licenses the bundled OrcaWave diffraction solver and offers supplementary tools (Distributed OrcaFlex, OrcaBend, FASTlink) along with training services.

Product overview

Orcina is a software company founded in 1986, specializing in marine systems design and analysis. The company's flagship product is OrcaFlex, a single comprehensive software package for dynamic analysis of offshore marine structures including riser systems, mooring systems, towed systems, and installation planning. The product portfolio also includes OrcaWave (diffraction and radiation solver bundled since version 11.0), Distributed OrcaFlex (distributed batch processing), OrcaBend (bend stiffener modeling), and FASTlink (external tool integration). The core sectors served are oil & gas, wet renewables, oceanographic, seismic, defense, and aquaculture. Orcina also provides training courses and annual User Group Meetings as part of its customer support offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OrcaFlex: The world's leading software package for marine systems design and analysis, providing powerful, fast and intuitive tools for dynamic analysis.
• OrcaWave
• Distributed OrcaFlex

Products and services

• OrcaFlex World-leading Windows-based software package for dynamic analysis of offshore marine systems, including risers (SCRs, TTRs, hybrids, flexibles, umbilicals, hoses), mooring systems (spread, turret, SPM, jetty), installation planning, towed systems (bundle dynamics, seismic arrays), defence platforms, and marine renewables. Provides time domain and frequency domain analysis, fatigue analysis, code compliance checks, and 3D visualization, and is licensed under MUS (Maintenance and Update Service) contracts.
• OrcaWave Diffraction and radiation solver included with OrcaFlex since version 11.0. Performs diffraction analysis to calculate hydrodynamic data including QTFs, added mass, damping, and RAOs for vessel objects, supporting single-body and multi-body analyses with automatic mesh generation and import from WAMIT and AQWA.
• Distributed OrcaFlex Distributed batch processing add-on enabling parallel execution of OrcaFlex simulations across multiple computers to accelerate large or multiple simulation runs. Sold as an add-on module to the core OrcaFlex package.
• OrcaBend Bend stiffener and stress joint modelling tool supporting both linear and non-linear material properties for elastomeric bend stiffeners and plastic deformation of steel pipes during installation. Sold as a separate add-on module to OrcaFlex users.
• FASTlink Tool for linking OrcaFlex with external analysis tools, enabling data exchange and coupled analyses between OrcaFlex and third-party applications.
• Orcina Training Courses Paid software training services delivered as open-enrolment courses (Introduction to OrcaFlex, OrcaFlex for Floating Offshore Wind Turbines, Python Interface workshops) and as client-specific on-site or online courses, available globally in English and other languages.
• OrcaFlex Examples Suite Freely available library of reference example models covering production risers, drilling risers, moorings, riser installation, pipelay, payload handling, deployment, offloading, towed systems, defence, renewables, diffraction, and pipelines, distributed with description PDFs and workspace files.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature10 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Wood: Large offshore engineering and consulting services firm (including legacy MCS Kenny and SgurrEnergy). Competes in the broader offshore engineering services market where OrcaFlex is used, and influences tool selection across many operator and contractor projects.
• Subsea7: Global offshore engineering and installation contractor with significant in-house riser, mooring and installation analysis capability. Operates as both a buyer of marine engineering software and an internal competitor for engineering analysis work.
• TechnipFMC: Major subsea and offshore engineering, procurement and construction contractor with extensive in-house offshore dynamics capability. Competes for the same offshore engineering projects where OrcaFlex is used, and at scale can favour proprietary or alternative toolsets.

Direct peers

• Principia: Specialist engineering consultancy and software developer (Ariane, DIFAR) focused on mooring and riser system analysis. Directly competes with OrcaFlex's mooring and riser modules, particularly in floating production systems.
• ANSYS: Sells AQWA for diffraction, hydrodynamics and wave-structure interaction analysis. AQWA is a direct substitute for OrcaFlex's OrcaWave diffraction solver and broader hydrodynamic capabilities, and OrcaWave explicitly imports AQWA data.
• DNV: Classification society and major provider of offshore engineering software (Sesam, HydroD, Bladed) used for structural, hydrodynamic and wind turbine analysis. Directly competes with OrcaFlex across offshore structural and marine engineering workflows and also serves oil & gas and offshore wind customers.
• Siemens Energy (Bladed / NX for offshore wind): Bladed is the industry-standard aero-elastic tool for offshore and onshore wind turbine design. It overlaps with OrcaFlex's floating offshore wind turbine modelling use cases and competes for engineering budget at OEMs and developers.
• Bentley Systems: Provider of offshore structural analysis software such as SACS and MOSES, used for fixed and floating platform design and installation analysis. Competes with OrcaFlex in offshore structural code compliance and mooring/riser engineering.

Emerging players

• WAMIT: Niche provider of wave-body interaction and diffraction analysis software. OrcaWave directly imports WAMIT outputs, making WAMIT both an input and a partial substitute for OrcaFlex's diffraction capabilities.
• Tension Technology International: Specialist consultancy and test house for synthetic fibre ropes, mooring systems and risers. Closely adjacent to OrcaFlex's synthetic rope and mooring/riser customer base and overlaps in marine renewables and offshore engineering problem-solving.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/Orcina-Ltd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/orcina-ltd
• Xx.com/orcina_ltd

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

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 Orcina