X-BOW®

X-BOW turns the image of a ship’s bow upside down, with an inverted bow which cleaves the waves, avoiding the boat to slam down during bad weather and thereby improving stability. This leads to better safety in rough seas and enhances the comfort for everyone onboard. Being able to keep a stable speed at sea also lowers fuel consumption and saves energy.

Part of maritime history

Being designed for navigating in the North Seas makes a ship with an X-BOW® a safe choice for harsh conditions all over the world. Initially meant for the offshore industry, it has since been introduced on other types of vessels such as expedition cruises and trawling. Today there are over 100 ships around the world with the X-BOW®concept, most of them being built abroad including over 50 boats in China alone.

X-BOW® demonstrates some of the innovation capacity of Norwegian ship design and is an important contribution to our maritime history. It has also been appreciated by the general public, featuring on Norway’s new banknotes and it was voted number three by the people in Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten and DOGA’s competition of Norway’s 100 most popular designs during the last 100 years.

Thinking outside the box

Ulstein Group is one of Norway's major innovators in shipbuilding, ship design and maritime solutions. Design has been key to many of its successes and the company has built a strong team of in-house designers. When the X-BOW® was developed during the early 2000s, the offshore industry went through one of many tough periods. Tore Ulstein, deputy CEO of Ulstein Group, explains that innovation is a key strategy in Ulstein Group.

“Thinking outside the box and challenging accepted thinking is what drives our development. A challenge we all face is facilitating step change, often called disruptive innovation. Time is often a bottleneck when it comes to focusing on innovative work in good times. In one way, tough times are good for business, as it allows room for creativity. The maritime industry is cyclical, with upturns and downturns. This can be an opportunity, and Ulstein is committed to bring forward new ideas, solutions and products to the market.”