The history of NorLense
NorLense AS was established at Fiskebøl, Norway in 1975, and has since been a market leader in development of the oil spill recovery equipment we see today.
After a development period, sales took off in 1978. When a blowout occured in the Norwegian part of the North Sea in 1977, the Bravo incident, the Norwegian government decided to establish a national preparedness center with 15 depots along the coast. NorLense was awarded the contract for production and testing of new offshore oil containment booms for all 15 depots.
Developing of the Ring-Boom and the Oil Trawl, a market revolution!
Development has always been an important part of the activity in NorLense, and during the period of 1988 to 1992, great resources were put into developing what later was known as ‘’Ring-boom’’ with self-inflation. This boom was a market revolution in itself, as deployment and retrieval of the equipment required both less time and less demand for resources, resulting in simplified training and exercises which made arranging exercises less demanding and held more often. An important improvement with regards to successful future oil recovery!
The Ring-boom became the new standard for the oil companies and oil field preparedness in the North Sea during the 90’s.
Later it became the standard type of offshore boom for the preparedness in the NOFO-system*. This “oil spill organization” oversees the preparedness in Norway on behalf of the operating oil companies on the Norwegian continental shelf, and has been a trendsetter for oil spill preparedness worldwide. This has resulted in sales for NorLense in all countries which has adopted the same preparedness structure against oil spill.
Between 2010-2013, NorLense developed a system named the NorLense Oil Trawl. A record-breaking concept when it comes to collecting and retain collected oil. During realistic tests, the system shows a unique efficiency with over 90% Recovery Efficiency, with a relative speed of up to 5 knots-much faster than traditional system.

The unique NorLense high-pressure technology for defense industry and humanitarian organizations.
Through a close cooperation with the Norwegian Armed Forces and Norwegian Civil Defense, NorLense has developed a range of high-pressure tents (shelters). Based on the NorLense know-how from the marine and oil sector, we developed an idea to use our unique high-pressure technology and air filling technology for a shelter solution.
NorLense delivered its first complete shelter camp in 2010. Since this successful delivery, NorLense has delivered shelter solutions to Armed Forces and humanitarian organizations all around the world.
Long-term and local shareholders.
Due to the tough competition and lower activity in the oil industry the company searched for industrial shareholders in 2015. A few months later, in 2016, the company had new shareholders with a long-term strategy.
This way NorLense ensured further development of new products for the benefit of our customers worldwide!
* NOFO: Establishes and maintain oil spill preparedness on the Norwegian Continental Shelf
Oil Spill Recovery
NorLense is one of the world’s leading companies for development and manufacture of Oil Spill Emergency Equipment.
shelter solutions
NorLense develops and manufactures inflatable tents based on our unique High-pressure Inflation Technology. This technology allows a quick and easy set up in any climate.
aquaculture
NorLense has 40+ years of experience in the marine sector/oil industry with strict quality requirements. A valuable experience which we have passed on to the Aquaculture sector.
tailor made
At NorLense we realize that the specific and diverse needs of our customer’s calls for customized systems.