Tor Østervold

Born in 1983, Tor grew up in the west-coast municipality of Austevoll to the south of Bergen. He graduated from the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL) in Haugesund with a BSc in Nautical Science, then went on take an MSc in International Shipping at Plymouth University in the UK.

Tor then spent some years seafaring in industrial fishing, on the same vessel he began serving on at the age of 13. Having always lived by and on the water, he has is passionate about helping to create a sustainable and profitable Blue Economy while conserving the ocean environment.

Tor’s experience from working with aquaculture net cleaning in the early 2000s was what first triggered his idea to apply sustainable cleaning technology to vessels in pursuit of enhanced performance efficiency. This led to him establish ECOsubsea in 2008 together with his brother, Klaus, who now serves as CTO of the company. It took four years of hard development work before their revolutionary robotic hull cleaning system was finally ready to be put into commercial operation from 2013. ECOsubsea now has operations in the UK, Norway, France, the Netherlands and Belgium, with plans underway to expand to new locations globally.

We believe Tor’s infectious enthusiasm and dogged persistence in bringing ECOsubsea’s end-to-end solution through commercialisation to implementation over the past 15 years makes for an inspiring story to share with your Congress attendees. Through his commitment to a solution that cuts operational costs, carbon emissions and the spread of invasive species, he is an excellent role model for the younger generation of maritime entrepreneurs looking to launch concepts that are both economically viable and green.