Marfle, Flinders Port Holdings, and Hart Marine celebrate two years of collaboration, bringing together advanced fleet performance monitoring and industry-leading shipbuilding to elevate pilot boat operations across Australia.
The partnership began in late 2023 through close collaboration between Hart Marine, Australia’s leading pilot boat shipbuilder, and Flinders Ports (FP), a major port operator in South Australia. Following an initial demonstration of Marfle Fleet Analytics, FP recognised the benefits of integrating the system into its day-to-day marine operations. FP has progressively rolled out Marfle software across its pilot boat fleet to enable data-driven decision-making and higher efficiencies.
Four FP pilot boats are now powered by Marfle software, providing comprehensive visibility into fleet and vessel performance, engine health, fuel efficiency, and vessel handling behaviour.
Marfle has proven to be a powerful operational tool for FP, enabling the detection, analysis and visualisation of real-time engine data alongside historical performance metrics, in an easy-to-use, intuitive interface. By having a complete operational overview, the FP team can seamlessly compare fuel consumption between vessels with different engine configurations, identify driving patterns that support greater crew efficiency, and encourage safer and more consistent operational practices.
Feedback on the platform has been consistently positive, with Marfle’s automated reporting functionality now widely used across the organisation.
All vessels involved in the collaboration have been built exceptionally by Hart Marine, FP major pilot boat shipbuilding partner. Over the past two years, Hart Marine has delivered three new pilot boats for FP with Marfle systems installed and has also retrofitted the technology on an existing Hart-built vessel.
“Hart Marine is known worldwide as the ‘Pilot Boat of Choice,’ building high-performance pilot and patrol vessels for demanding operations,” said Ben Switzer, Production Manager at Hart Marine. “By combining our proven shipbuilding experience with Marfle’s advanced fleet analytics, Flinders Ports now operates top-tier pilot vessels that keep crews safe, perform at the highest level, and support long-term fleet and vessel performance.”
“Hart Marine’s technical expertise and Flinders Ports’ operational insight have been critical to the success of this collaboration,” states Joose Viljanen, CEO of Marfle. “From initial demonstrations to system installation and ongoing development, this partnership shows how technology providers, operators, and shipbuilders can work together to deliver practical, operationally relevant solutions.”
Hart Marine also serves as Marfle’s official installation partner across Australian waters, ensuring seamless integration of the Marfle system across both new and existing vessels.
The most recent milestone in the collaboration is the integration of weather data into Marfle’s platform, a development that is already showing positive progress and further enhances operational awareness for Flinders Ports’ marine teams.
Together, Marfle, Flinders Ports, and Hart Marine continue to demonstrate how strong partnerships can drive innovation and measurable operational improvements in pilot boat operations.
For more information, visit:
www.flindersportholdings.com.au
