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DNV GL acquires Marine Cybernetics

Published by , Senior Editor
LNG Industry,


DNV GL has expanded its scope of services in the offshore and maritime industries with the acquisition of Marine Cybernetics - a leading company for third-party testing of computer control systems.

Marine Cybernetics was established in 2002 as a spin-off from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Based in Trondheim, Norway, the company introduced the concept of Hardware-In-the Loop-Testing (HIL) to the maritime and offshore industries. HIL testing significantly reduces the risk of accidents, off-hire costs and non-productive time due to software-related issues.

“The decision to invest in Marine Cybernetics was driven by the increasing importance of software dependent systems in ensuring safe, reliable and efficient operations. We have now come to a point where we cannot only rely on testing and verifying hardware,” says Remi Eriksen, DNV GL Group Executive Vice President and COO. “We see that an increasing number of incidents, many of them severe, are caused by software- related issues. There’s a weak spot in the way the offshore and marine industries work to ensure total system quality. That weak spot is getting bigger every day, but we’re going to rectify this,” he continues.

A requirement of software-system certification was introduced into the offshore classification rules by DNV GL some time ago. Currently, the market for the third- party testing and certification of control systems is small but has huge potential.

According to Eriksen, the short-term synergies will facilitate a global roll out of HIL testing services via DNV GL’s worldwide network, allowing Marine Cybernetics to reach even more customers across the globe. A mid-term perspective is a combination of service offerings, with the long-term goal to use the competencies and technologies in other asset heavy and software intensive industries, such as the power generation, transmission and distribution industries.”

Besides Statoil Technology Invest and the Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Group, the shares of Marine Cybernetics were held by Marine Cybernetics employees and management as well as the former founders, who are now completely out of the company. To reflect its cross-industry relevance and strategic importance to DNV GL, Marine Cybernetics will become an independent business unit within the DNV GL Group.


 Adapted from press release by

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/lng-shipping/08052014/dnv_gl_acquires_marine_cybernetics_545/

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