SOLUTION / PUBLIC SOURCE RECORD
NorLense makes oil spill recovery safe and easy
- Published 22 March 2023; updated 21 September 2026; estimated reading time 3 minutes. Listed as available under Maritime.
- NorLense’s Oil Trawl is described as an oil-spill recovery system designed to collect spilled oil, separate it from water and store it in a bag in one operation. The page says one worker can deploy and retrieve it, and characterizes it as both an environmental cleanup and worker-safety product.
- Challenge context: the 2020 Mauritius oil spill drew attention to maritime oil transport risks. Although large spills have declined, the article says spills under 7 metric tonnes account for more than 80% of incidents at sea. It notes smaller spills occur frequently and cleanup can be expensive, cumbersome and dangerous.
- Equipment is kept in an onboard container to save deck space, deployed directly into the sea and retrieved by one worker; a single-point inflation system for the containment boom is said to simplify operation. The company emphasizes equipment should be straightforward to use and train on.
- The Oil Trawl is designed for oil-flow rates of 4–5 knots; the article compares this with about 1 knot for conventional systems and says the higher rate can recover more oil. It eliminates the need for a separate cleanup vessel and a sweeper used to physically separate oil and water, reducing time, cost and manpower.
- Safety features and claimed benefits: fewer workers are needed; workers can avoid standing on slippery decks in front of equipment; remote control can keep people off deck in severe conditions, including Arctic cold. The article says this improves worker safety while protecting marine life and reducing cleanup costs.
- Regulatory/market context: the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC) sets measures for marine oil pollution; the article says 112 countries are signatories and ships must carry oil emergency pollution plans. It also notes national requirements affecting tankers, rigs and similar operations.
- Customers worldwide include port authorities, government agencies and oil companies, particularly refineries and terminals. NorLense was established in Norway in 1975 and also supplies inflatable shelters (linked to a separate Business Norway solution page).
- Linked to SDG 8, Decent work and economic growth, for safer onboard working conditions, and SDG 14, Life below water, for recovering more oil and limiting marine impacts.
- Contact: Aril Jørgensen, Senior Sales Manager, aril@norlense.com. Phone number is behind a collapsed reveal control. Company: NORLENSE AS, Fiskebøl, 8317 Strønstad, Norway; norlense.com.