Pivot Maritime: Sale of new technology the tip of the iceberg as global navies knock
A Tasmanian company’s breakthrough technology is on the cusp of going global, with the navies of some of Australia’s most significant allies, as well as our very own Spirit of Tasmania, queuing up.
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The distinctive idea of creating modular maritime simulators in transportable shipping containers, dreamt up by a company on the banks of the Tamar estuary, has a conga line of navies from around the world queuing up.
On Sunday, Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Retired Rear Admiral Steve Gilmore AM attended a ceremony at Legana’s Pivot Maritime International to commemorate the shipping of two simulators to Darwin for use by their new owners, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
The simulators will be used to train sailors involved in the piloting of RANs offshore patrol vessels (OPV).
The simulators, each contained entirely within a 40ft shipping container, can be combined with the other to form a life-size replica of the bridge of RANs new Arafura Class OPV, which are gradually taking over from the Armidale Class and Cape Class patrol boats.
And it’s not just RAN that has eyes for the technology – Dr Jeffrey Hawkins, who founded Pivot in 1996 alongside three Australian Maritime College colleagues, said navies from the USA, UK and New Zealand had all made inquiries, as had Spirit of Tasmania operator TT-Line.
Dr Hawkins said the company’s invention heralded new possibilities for maritime training in defence, aquaculture, shipping and transport.
“What’s significant for us is that these 40ft containers can be combined to make one system. This is the first time globally that anyone has put containers like that, at a one-to-one scale of the ship,” he said.
“When you walk into the containers it feels exactly the same as the real ship.”
Whereas other mobile simulators can only hold a few at most, Pivot’s can contain the “whole bridge crew” for immersive training that mimics the pressure of high-stakes, real-life scenarios, Dr Hawkins said.
Their other great benefit is their ability to be whisked anywhere – buildings, ports, navy bases, even on-board a vessel itself – and set up swiftly.
“The great thing about containers is everyone is used to transporting them about. It only takes us an hour-and-a-half from the time a simulator is put down on a pad for it to be operational again,” Dr Hawkins said.
“It’s fast and transportable and really easy. It has one plug.”
Pivot currently builds 20ft and 40ft models, which can be customised to resemble a vessel’s bridge. Dr Hawkins said the next challenge is putting three 40ft containers together to further enlarge the training space.
With its 22 employees – including 12 on site at Legana – Pivot can build up to 30 container simulators a year, he said.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said Pivot selling two of its container simulation systems to the RAN was a “huge coup” for the homegrown outfit.
“We often hear about Tasmanian companies and their invention, innovation, and ingenuity in finding ways to solve problems and Pivot is a classic example of that,” he said.
In September, Dr Hawkins was named the Innovator of the Year at the Australian Defence Industries Awards for the design of his company’s 40ft container simulation systems.
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Originally published as Pivot Maritime: Sale of new technology the tip of the iceberg as global navies knock
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