What we do

DSA Ocean provides practical engineering services that enable ocean engineers, naval architects, oceanographers – or anybody with business in the water – to assess the effect of currents, winds and waves on their vessels, technologies, and projects. We specialize in marine hydrodynamics and mooring design for a range of applications, including oceanography, marine energy, and aquaculture.

In addition to providing consulting services to ocean industries, we have created the marine dynamic analysis software ProteusDS. Key applications of the software include floating tidal energy platforms, fish farms, WECs, and oceanographic moorings. DSA Ocean also support and license the seakeeping & maneuvering software ShipMo3D.

Where we came from

In 2005, DSA Ocean co-founders Ryan Nicoll and Dean Steinke were graduate mechanical engineering students at the University of Victoria. While at university Ryan and Dean were working within the Subsea Robotics Laboratory. Here, the DSA Ocean co-founders developed numerical models of flexible marine structures (risers, cables) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Through their research, Ryan and Dean developed the basis of DSA Ocean’s ProteusDS simulation software. In the summer of 2006 Dynamic Systems Analysis Ltd. (now DSA Ocean) was founded with the mission to commercialize the software Ryan and Dean had been working with, and provide consulting services to marine industries.

A core component of the ProteusDS dynamic analysis software package was the advanced finite-element cable model pioneered by Dr. Brad Buckham, an associate professor at the University of Victoria. DSA Ocean maintains a close working relationship with Dr. Buckham and other researchers at UVic. DSA Ocean’s software is used in education and research settings at leading research organizations around the world.

Over the past decade and a half, ProteusDS has developed into a full-featured hydrodynamic, mechanical and marine dynamic analysis software package. This customizable, validated, and efficient software is the heart of DSA Ocean’s business.

DSA Ocean has been propelled forward by its close working relationships with its customers. Our business has grown organically through word-of-mouth and considerate collaboration with our suppliers and clients.

Where we are today

Today, DSA has grown to 13 employees with diverse backgrounds, with offices on the east and west coasts of Canada. DSA Ocean works with companies all over the world in a wide range of marine industries such as:

• Aquaculture and fisheries (net cage analysis, mooring)
• Defence (launch and recovery, towed arrays, submarines)
• Marine renewable energy (wave & tidal energy, floating wind, marine operations)
• Naval architecture ( seakeeping, towing, manoeuvring, winches, piles)
• Ocean technology (buoys, moorings, oceanography, towed bodies, ROVs, AUVs)
• Offshore & Subsea (moorings, pipelines, risers, floating structures, installation analysis)

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

DSA Ocean recognizes the importance and value of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within our workplace. In keeping with these principles, DSA Ocean is committed to supporting reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and recognize the lands on which British Columbia were founded.

DSA Ocean acknowledges the need to address systemic issues of inequity and is committed to building an inclusive environment within our workplace and favors clients and suppliers which are similarly committed to EDI and reconciliation.

DSA Ocean is committed to the practices of equity, diversity, and inclusion for all employment opportunities. In line with EGBC’s 30 by 30 target, we are committed to achieving at least 30% women and minorities on our team. All opportunities at DSA Ocean are to be promoted to qualified minorities, women, indigenous, and other underrepresented groups. We strive to ensure that we are fairly evaluating candidates based on EDI best practices.

Territorial Acknowledgement

We acknowledge and respect the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples on whose traditional territory our office is located and the Songhees, Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.