Knut Berge ’54

Date posted: September 14, 2016, 1:28 pm

Knut Berge died March 2, 2016 at his home in Bergen, Norway.

He received his Bachelor of Science in naval architecture and marine engineering in 1954 and had a one-year engagement with Combustion Engineering, New York, in marine boiler design and marine steam-turbine propulsion. When Combustion Engineering made a licensee arrangement with Kværner Brug AS in Norway, Knut was sent to Oslo as contact person and became an employee in their steam-power division. They built their first steam-turbine ship in 1956. In 1957, he became superintendent for ship owner Hilmar Reksten in Bergen, Norway, where he supervised building of 11 VLCCs (very large crude carriers) with Kværner Turbines. In 1965, he started Maritek, a ship technical consulting company, where he developed the Maritek torque meter. The company is the leading producer of instruments for measuring and evaluating ship propulsion. Kværner Energy in Bergen again bought Maritek in 1990, and Knut worked for them for three more years. Maritek again became independent, and the name was changed to Kyma AS, where production remains in Bergen.

Knut Berge is survived by his wife, Phyllis, and three children, Tonje, Kaj, and Bror, who are all involved in ship and underwater engineering.