What KB-Gruppen does

KB-Gruppen AS is a Norwegian marine services company headquartered in Rørvik, Nærøysund, that delivers specialized diving, ROV inspection, non-medicinal sea lice treatment, maintenance, and aquaculture consulting services to salmon farming operators along the entire Norwegian coast. The company operates a fleet of seven purpose-built vessels—Hydro Pioneer (a 52m, 670-gross-ton delousing vessel equipped with two FLS Caligus 600 systems and Seaquest R500 fish pumps), KB Rokk (a 254-gross-ton service vessel with ROV capability to 1,000m and high-capacity cranes/winches), KB Mali and KB Varg (hybrid-propulsion service catamarans with ROV), and the diving vessels KB Storm, KB Tyfon, and KB Floing. Core technical capabilities include professional working diving to 50m depth with decompression chamber access, ROV inspections to 1,000m with real-time video documentation streamed to customers via Microsoft Teams, and non-medicinal delousing integrated with parent Smir Group's proprietary equipment. The company self-describes as world-leading in diving services for deep-drift (nedsenkbare merd) submersible cage aquaculture, an emerging operational modality in salmon farming.

KB-Gruppen generates revenue through multi-year time charter (TC) contracts and frame agreements with a small set of large enterprise salmon farmers, including Mowi (Hydro Pioneer, with a 3-year fixed agreement plus extension options), SalMar (KB Tyfon under a 3-year TC and KB Mali), Sinkaberg (KB Storm), and Lovundlaks (KB Rokk). Frame agreements cover production areas 6 and 7 from Nordmøre to Bindal, providing recurring, contractually-anchored revenue, while two vessels (KB Varg, KB Floing) operate on the spot market for additional capacity. The company is wholly owned by Smir Holding AS following Hydro Shipping's February 2024 acquisition, integrating it into the Smir Group's broader maritime services, technology, and sea-based industries portfolio. KB-Gruppen holds DNV GL, Kiwa, and GLOBALG.A.P. certifications relevant to its role as an aquaculture subcontractor, and runs an in-house training programme (KB-skolen) to certify professional divers for deep-drift operations.

Name

KB-Gruppen

Legal name

KB-Gruppen AS

Website

https://kbgruppen.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

KB-Gruppen is a Norwegian marine services company in Rørvik that provides professional diving, ROV inspection, non-medicinal sea lice treatment, and maintenance to Norwegian salmon farming operators via a fleet of seven purpose-built vessels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aquaculture Marine Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883), Other Support Activities for Water Transportation (48839)

SIC

Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730)

akta.pro primary industry

Underwater Inspection, Maintenance & Repair (UWILD, Diving/ROV, In-water Cleaning) (IMAJAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Underwater Hull Inspection, Cleaning & Propeller Services (TLAKAKAJ), Marine Service Provider Coordination (Diving, Inspection, Class/Survey Support) (TLAHAJAI)

Keywords

• Aquaculture diving services
• ROV inspection services
• Non-medicinal delousing
• Deep-drift aquaculture
• Marine service vessels

Headquarters

HQ city

Rørvik

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Time Charter (TC) Contracts: KB-Gruppen provides vessels with crew to aquaculture customers on time charter basis. Vessels such as KB Tyfon operate under multi-year TC agreements (e.g., 3-year TC for KB Tyfon), with crews including 8 divers across two shifts. This provides predictable, recurring charter revenue.
2. Frame Agreements (Rammeavtaler): Multi-year framework agreements covering maritime diving and service operations, handled by vessels in KB-Gruppen's fleet across production areas 6 and 7 along the Norwegian coast.
3. Charter and Service Contracts for Hydro Pioneer: Long-term charter contract for Hydro Pioneer, an aquaculture vessel equipped for non-medicinal delousing. Includes a 3-year fixed contract starting from July, with options for extension. Secures 14 jobs in the company's shipping operations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

KB-Gruppen is a marine services company that delivers professional underwater diving (arbeidsdykking), ROV inspections, non-medicinal sea lice treatment (delousing), maintenance/service work, and aquaculture consulting to salmon farming operators along the Norwegian coast. Services are executed from a fleet of seven purpose-equipped vessels, including the Hydro Pioneer delousing vessel, and are sold primarily through multi-year time charter and frame agreements.

Product overview

KB-Gruppen is a diving and service company based in Rørvik, Nærøysund, offering maritime services primarily to the aquaculture industry. The company operates a modern fleet of 7 specialized vessels (Hydro Pioneer, KB Mali, KB Varg, KB Rokk, KB Storm, KB Tyfon, KB Floing) providing five core services: Working Diving (Arbeidsdykking) up to 50 meters depth with decompression chamber access, ROV Inspection capable down to 1000 meters, Non-medicinal Sea Lice Treatment via Hydro Pioneer, Service Work for maintenance and repairs, and Consulting services. The company is world-leading on diving services for deep-water aquaculture (dypdrift) and recently expanded through acquisition by Smir Group. All services are delivered with focus on safety, fish welfare, and operational efficiency.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Arbeidsdykking (Working Diving) Professional underwater work for aquaculture operators, including maintenance, repairs, net repair, and equipment installation. Capable of diving up to 50 meters depth with access to a decompression chamber and mobile diving equipment for sites inaccessible by boat.
• ROV-inspeksjon (ROV Inspection) Underwater inspections using remotely operated vehicles capable of operation down to 1,000 meters depth, with advanced positioning equipment for precise documentation of anchors and mooring bolts. Customers can follow inspections in real-time via video streaming.
• Ikke-medikamentell behandling (Non-medicinal Treatment / Delousing) Non-medicinal sea lice treatment delivered via the Hydro Pioneer vessel equipped with two FLS Caligus 600 systems and Seaquest R500 fish pumps, designed for good fish welfare and efficient operations. Operates under a long-term agreement with Mowi.
• Servicearbeid (Service Work) Maintenance and repair services for aquaculture installations, including net inspection, equipment mounting, mooring handling, towing, and delousing operations on sea-based facilities.
• Rådgivning (Consulting) Professional consulting services for the aquaculture industry, including specialised expertise in diving in closed facilities and deep-water (dypdrift) operations.
• KB-skolen (KB School) Internal competence programme and training school that certifies and develops professional divers in deep-water (dypdrift) aquaculture operations, combining theoretical and practical training including visualisation programmes with deep-water drift animations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Deep-drift operations reduce sea lice infestation dramatically compared to surface production, according to fish health expert Brit Hjeltnes (Imars)

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• SalMarmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025SalMar has multiple KB-Gruppen vessels on contract including KB Tyfon (3-year TC) and KB Mali. SalMar is investing heavily in submersible cage technology, with 20% of its Lerøy Seafood fish set to be raised in submersible merds.
• Sinkaberg AS (SinkabergHansen)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Sinkaberg AS, a deep-drift pioneer, signed a time charter agreement for the diving vessel KB Storm. Sinkaberg is known for pioneering submersible cage technology and was referenced by fish health expert Brit Hjeltnes for dramatically reducing sea lice through deep-drift production.
• Smir Group (Smir Holding AS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKB-Gruppen AS is a wholly owned part of Smir Holding AS. The Smir Group has broad experience within maritime services, technology, and sea-based industries. In February 2024, Hydro Shipping acquired KB-Gruppen, consolidating the companies under the kb. brand. The Smir Group develops technologies (e.g., Smir technologies) that KB-Gruppen integrates into its service offerings. In 2025, the entire Smir Group exhibited together at Aqua Nor.
• MowimajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMowi, the world's largest salmon farmer, operates in long-term collaboration with KB-Gruppen's Hydro Pioneer vessel for non-medicinal sea lice treatment. Mowi is a key anchor customer for the delousing service.
• LovundlaksmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKB Rokk, KB-Gruppen's largest service vessel with ROV capabilities down to 1,000m and high lifting capacity, is under contract with Lovundlaks for service operations.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Subsea 7: Subsea 7 is a global subsea engineering, construction, and services company with ROV and diving capabilities. Comparable in underwater intervention technology but operates at much larger scale across offshore energy; aquaculture is a non-core market.
• Helix Energy Solutions: Helix Energy Solutions provides subsea well intervention and ROV-based inspection, maintenance, and repair services globally. Comparable in underwater intervention capabilities, though it targets offshore oil & gas rather than aquaculture installations.
• Saab Seaeye: Saab Seaeye is a leading manufacturer of electric underwater robotic systems (ROVs) used globally in inspection, intervention, and aquaculture. Comparable as the underlying ROV technology provider that KB-Gruppen and its peers deploy on their service vessels.
• Saipem: Saipem operates a subsea services business (Saipem Subsea) with ROV fleets and diving support for offshore construction and IMR. Comparable in underwater service delivery infrastructure, though aquaculture is outside its core offshore-energy focus.
• DeepOcean: DeepOcean is a Norway-based subsea services company offering ROV operations, inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) across offshore energy and aquaculture. Comparable to KB-Gruppen in underwater intervention capability but at significantly larger scale and broader subsea scope.
• DOF Subsea: DOF Subsea is a global subsea IMR and diving services provider with a Norwegian operating base. Comparable to KB-Gruppen in diving and ROV inspection, but serves a much broader offshore oil & gas and renewables market rather than specializing in aquaculture.

Direct peers

• Akva Group: Akva Group is a leading global supplier of aquaculture technology and services, including net cleaning, ROV-based inspection, and fish-farm service vessels. It directly competes with KB-Gruppen for marine service contracts with Norwegian salmon farmers, and serves the same enterprise customer base (SalMar, Mowi, Lerøy).

Others

• Kongsberg Maritime: Kongsberg Maritime supplies marine technology including underwater positioning, subsea sensors, and vessel systems used in aquaculture service operations. Comparable as an enabling technology vendor into the same underwater inspection and intervention workflow that KB-Gruppen operates.
• Aanderaa Data Instruments: Aanderaa (a subsidiary of Xylem Analytics) manufactures oceanographic and aquaculture monitoring sensors used by Norwegian salmon farmers. Comparable as an adjacent aquaculture-support technology supplier; not a direct service competitor but serves the same enterprise customers.

Emerging players

• Deep Trekker: Deep Trekker manufactures portable, observation-class ROVs widely adopted in aquaculture for net inspection and mort retrieval. Comparable as a technology enabling the same underwater inspection use cases KB-Gruppen performs, though Deep Trekker is an equipment vendor rather than a service operator.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/kbgruppen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kb-gruppen

Compliance3 records

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 KB-Gruppen