From student project to offshore insight

With a thesis on energy efficiency recognised by both academia and industry, Oliver Karlsen brings fresh analytical insight to DOF in his role as Market Analyst.

After graduating from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) in 2025, Oliver joined DOF full-time. His connection to the organisation started earlier, when he and fellow student Martin Sollesnes Kleppe wrote their master’s thesis in collaboration with DOF.

"Martin’s vessel experience in DOF sparked the idea and my interest in the maritime industry made it a natural fit", Oliver shares.

Their work focused on one of the key challenges in offshore operations: the high energy demand of dynamic positioning. By combining vessel data with weather patterns, they developed a digital tool that recommends the most energy-efficient vessel heading, showing potential fuel savings of up to 15.5 percent. The thesis earned them the Lehmkuhl Scholarship for its relevance to business and society.

Working from DOF's central Bergen office, the pair received valuable guidance.

"Having direct access to advisors in DOF made it easy to ask questions and discuss ideas", Oliver says.

Now part of DOF Subsea, Oliver continues to apply the same analytical approach in his daily work.

"The thesis was all about analysing operational data - something I now do every day. The maritime industry is one of the most exciting sectors to work in, and DOF is a market leader with a large fleet, great trust in its people and truly engaging projects", Oliver reflects.

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