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Bergen-based shipping company Utkilen AS has selected UniSea as its new platform for fleet-wide digital operations. The agreement covers the Enterprise package, the full Technical Bundle and TMSA modules, replacing the company's existing maritime software across all 16 vessels in its chemical tanker fleet.
Utkilen's decision followed a structured evaluation of its existing technical management software. The company was looking for a platform that could carry forward years of accumulated fleet data while opening the door to faster development cycles and a friendlier user experience.
Migration from legacy systems is an area UniSea has invested heavily in, with established data conversion paths for some of the most common technical management tools.
"Moving onto a modern platform that continuously evolves was an important factor for us. We wanted a partner committed to long-term development rather than a tool we would need to replace again in five years,” says Sven Atle Halvorsen, IT Operations Manager, Utkilen AS.
For a chemical tanker operator certified by DNV, quality and safety systems sit at the centre of daily work. Utkilen's selection of the Enterprise package, which carries UniSea's HSEQ and operations functionality, was important for the company's stated focus on quality.
Utkilen's Technical bundle gives the company a connected set of tools for maintenance, procurement, dry-docking and inspections, areas that are often handled in separate systems with limited data flow between them.
The Maindeck module, designed for managing dry-dockings and larger technical projects, lets project owners run yard quotation rounds, delegate tasks and keep specifications, quotes and progress in one place rather than across email threads and spreadsheets. Combined with Procurement and Maintenance, it gives the technical department a single source of for their technical work.
"Having maintenance, procurement, dry-docking and inspections on the same platform means our technical team can spend less time moving information between systems and more time on the work itself," says Sven Atle Halvorsen, IT Operations Manager, Utkilen AS.
As a chemical tanker operator, Utkilen works within SIRE and TMSA framework set by OCIMF. Both are supported as dedicated modules in UniSea, with templates and workflows that map directly to the inspection and self-assessment regimes the company already runs against.
Having these requirements supported natively in the platform, rather than handled through parallel tools, reduces duplicate work and keeps evidence aligned with the rest of the safety management system.
“Utkilen is a quality-focused operator with a long history in Norwegian shipping, and we are looking forward to supporting them as they bring their technical and HSEQ operations onto our platform. Their decision to take the full Enterprise and Technical bundles, together with SIRE, TMSA and Analytics, reflects exactly the kind of integrated approach the platform is built for," says Kurt Roar Vilhelmsen, CEO, UniSea.
Utkilen AS is a fully integrated shipping company headquartered in Bergen, Norway, with a history reaching back to 1916 and the current company founded in 1967. The company owns and operates 16 ice class chemical tankers ranging from around 6,000 to 17,000 dwt, and is one of the major seaway transporters of chemicals and other bulk liquid cargoes in Northern Europe.
The group employs around 50 shore staff across offices in Bergen, Riga and Manila, with approximately 500 seafarers working onboard its vessels. Utkilen maintains in-house functions for chartering, operations, ship management and crewing, and its safety and quality systems are certified by DNV.
UniSea is a software provider specializing in solutions for the maritime industry, helping companies optimize operations, enhance compliance, and improve sustainability efforts. Founded in Skudeneshavn, Norway, where the company maintains its headquarters, UniSea has grown over almost three decades to serve a fleet of more than 3,000 vessels with a team of over 90 employees.
The company's platform offers 40 integrated modules that support shipping companies in managing various operational processes, including safety management, environmental compliance, maintenance operations, and performance monitoring. UniSea continuously listens to its users and regularly releases new and improved solutions, ensuring the platform evolves to meet the ever-changing needs of the maritime industry.