“Science is about knowing; engineering is about doing.”
— Henry Petroski
We are a group of independent naval architects and marine engineers with extensive multidisciplinary experience in conceptualization, functional and detailed design/engineering and project execution for the maritime industry.
Virgil Mutu
Founder, Managing Director
We are often so immersed in our engineering work that we end up forgetting the fundamental niceties of being human – resting, breaking bread with others… I’ve learned that sometimes, worse than not feeding co-workers you’re in charge of, is feeding them the wrong thing for their cultural background. I once, while working as Technical Manager at Kleven on the Roald Amundsen Hurtigruten project, had to employ Italian architects to help us with the hotel drawings – as norm of industry, we were often working past normal office hours. One night I was to order take-away food, did it without paying proper attention to what I was ordering, and to whom. We ended feeding our Italian co-workers pizza with french fries and kebab… Can you visualize how dramatic that might be to Italians?
Arve Drønnen
Founder, Technical Manager
Sometimes, the most memorable aspects of a project are those that are secondary to its primary objectives. While working on the Calypso, a high-end cable-layer, at the VARD Brattvaag shipyards as a Technical Coordinator, I found myself assuming unexpected roles. Due to the vacation of some yard personnel, I had to step up during the Sea Trials, ultimately serving as the Sea Trial Leader, or second-in-command. This responsibility entailed significant additional work, and we endured many long nights. However, what I remember most vividly is the profound sense of joy upon the project’s completion, the breathtaking sunrises and sunsets over the fjord, and the opportunity to collaborate with exceptionally skilled colleagues. These moments provided good memories and experiences to bring along in my future endeavors.
Laurentiu Oanca
Founder, Principal Engineer
Knowledge and experience mean a lot in team-work, but one unexpected skill and capacity is communication and accepting the idiosyncrasies of language. While working with piping design and engineering for the vessel Skandi Bergen, our manager brought in a Bulgarian engineer to team up for the design work, and his English was not very advanced. I was tasked to help him with the system drawings, understand the workflow on the 3D software, which tools and what systems to use. When I finished the explanation, I asked him if he understood and he shook his head from side to side, as in “no”. I thought, “Hmm, what now?” and kept telling him everything over and over again, but he kept moving his head from side to side… so I went on trying to explain same things in increasingly creative ways. After a long while and way too many explanations I asked him “So now, did you understand?” and he answered “Yes! First time me understood!”. I asked him then, “But why did you shake your head from side to side? For us that means “no!”.
He answered “For us means “yes!”
Thanks to our years of experience and to our level of expertise, we are able to count on the following high-end professionals to create the perfect team for your engineering and naval architecture projects:
Marko Kundid
Naval Architect
Victor Mihai
Project Manager
Jostein Myklebust
Designer / Engineer
Josip Budimir
Naval Architect
Ivano Angelucci
Project Manager / Cost Controller
Mihaela Savin
Naval Architect / Engineer
DROM engineering, for significant quality
“I have had the pleasure of working with Arve, Laurentiu, and Virgil at Kleven on the cruise vessels for Hurtigruten. Their expertise in design and engineering is truly impressive, and their contributions to the projects have been significant.”
Pål Are Eikrem
Business Improvement Manager and Department
Manager at Kleven Verft (2017-2020)