The Ocean Basin is a large laboratory used for testing permanent and floating structures under realistic conditions with waves, currents and wind. The laboratory is used to test ships, offshore structures, wind turbines, fish farms, bridges and subsea installations.  

The model trials help improve safety, reduce costs and energy consumption, and increase the lifetime and durability of the structures.  

The Ocean Basin Laboratory is equipped with an advanced wave, current and wind system, and can test a structure in exactly the same type of environment it is intended to withstand. 

The new ocean basin is located in the Basin Building at Tyholt, and will be ready for use in 2027. Until then, the existing ocean basin will be in use. 

The academic communities at NTNU and SINTEF have developed these test and analysis methods over many years. The tests in the Ocean Basin Laboratory are carried out in parallel with computer simulations and full-scale tests at sea. 

Data from the various tests are used to continuously improve and optimise the tests and make the methods better and safer. Simulation tools recalculate the data findings from the tests so that we can predict with great certainty how the structures will behave at sea.