OceanFront has strengthened their position with the underwater drone from Blueye

Monday, November 23, 2020 / OceanFront

In the Norwegian coastal town Kristiansund, you will find the newly founded company OceanFront. They offer engineering services and project assistance for the offshore industry. The city of Kristiansund is situated on four different islands and has a long history with fisheries, shipyards and port activities. Still, a majority of businesses in Kristiansund are based on the ocean surrounding the city. This gives OceanFront a strong position as a supplier of underwater services.

Frank Ellingsen (CEO) and the other employees in OceanFront have extensive experience from the offshore and maritime industries. They have been working in these industries for a long time, and know why their customers will benefit from having a Blueye underwater drone.

By having the Blueye underwater drone, OceanFront gains a huge competitive advantage in the market. They can perform frequent inspections where it's difficult for divers to access, to ensure that everything looks as it should and, to avoid potential damage on underwater assets. OceanFront has a large network and they have already performed several inspections with their Blueye drone.

Frank Ellingsen from OceanFront - Blueye Partner
Manager of OceanFront, Frank Ellingsen, with the Blueye drone. Photo: OceanFront

In January 2020, a new law was passed which states that: «A diver in water requires three divers on land as security personnel». The law provides safety for those who perform the inspections, but the law also creates extra costs. Personnel costs will be higher if more people will have to take part in a dive. OceanFront is excited that they can make inspections not only cheaper, but also safer for everyone involved. No human risks are involved when operating the drone.

OceanFront can arrange the dive in close contact with the customer. The customer knows their products best and therefore it's a great advantage that they can follow the inspection at the same time as the pilot controls the drone. By sharing the drone's video stream via a Microsoft Teams meeting, an employee can also follow the inspection from a completely different place in the country.

The drone is easy to carry around and there are no human risks involved in the operations. - Frank Ellingsen, OceanFront

Shortly after the inspection, OceanFront can deliver a report to the customers; the advanced software in the drone auto-generates pictures in the report for you. This significantly streamlines the follow-up with reporting. A good and detailed report, according to Frank. The report can be used as it is or you can choose to add more notes to adapt it to your customer's needs.

OcenFront is experiencing many advantages of having an underwater drone. Especially that the drone is easy to bring on missions. It weighs only 9 kg and can be transported in a Zarges transport box, with wheels. You don't need to be several people to get the drone to the location and start the job.

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OceanFront's inspection equipment. Photo: OceanFront

One of OceanFront's first assignments was for a hydro power plant where they carried out an inspection of pipes and pipelines. The drone maneuvered smoothly through the surroundings, even though it was narrow. The report was created and shared with the customer after the dive.

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OceanFront conducting an inspection inside a mountain. Photo: OceanFront

OceanFront has been a Blueye partner for five months and is very happy and satisfied with the product. On the delivery day, OceanFront got a demo from Blueye Salesrep. Trond Larsen, and learned how to control the drone. Frank had no experience operating an underwater drone, but had absolutely no difficulty controlling it after the short training session. Frank is now the designated drone pilot for OceanFront and can carry out inspections for both hydro power, fish farms and offshore industries.

The drone is very user friendly and intuitive.
- Frank Ellingsen, OceanFront

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OceanFront conducting an inspection inside a mountain. Photo: OceanFront


The summer of 2020 OceanFront, became an authorized Blueye Partner. Blueye Robotics has great belief in OceanFront and is looking forward to continue the partnership.

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