Here at Navicom Dynamics, we design and manufacture precision navigation systems for the marine industry worldwide. 
Our products include Portable Pilot Units (PPUs), specialised piloting and navigation systems, customisable docking, mooring and berthing aids as well as bespoke GNSS technology applications for maritime navigation. Our systems are used daily by marine pilots around the globe.

We’re passionate about safe navigation and supporting maritime operations with the best equipment, and it’s our team that makes this possible. 

Read on to discover our history, and why we do what we do.

Navicom Dynamics was established in 2003 to improve navigation and originally imported and sold navigation equipment for commercial and recreational vessels in New Zealand. Our founder, Paul Stanley, was a navigational instructor for Royal New Zealand Navy and prior to that a navigator in the Royal Navy.  He had a strong desire to improve navigation in the maritime industry, especially in situations that required high skill where the use of technology would help.

Paul, who had immense respect for Piloting worldwide, searched for equipment that could help them in their task. He tried selling a brand of European navigational aids to the NZ market but found that they did not work as expected.  To meet his goal of improving navigational aids for Marine Pilots, he commissioned the build of the first HarbourPilot system and Navicom Dynamics as a Portable Pilot Unit (PPU) Manufacturer was born.

This first product and our original Portable Pilot Unit (PPU), the HarbourPilot Mk1, was released in 2004. From this first release, Navicom Dynamics established us as a player to be reckoned with in the precision navigation market. 

Over the following ten years, we developed a number of high-performing systems including the ShuttlePilot (a Portable Pilot Unit to aid offshore navigations) and ChannelPilot (a single pod Portable Pilot Unit which provides AIS, ROT, Position and enhanced ships heading ).

In 2013 a New Zealand local, John Tamis, came looking for a new challenge. He held an engineering background and many years in senior leadership in large companies, and he was greatly interested in the technology involved in navigational systems. New Zealand was leading the field worldwide in the development of Portable Pilot Units (PPUs), and John wanted in. He bought the business. 

For three years John led the business with Neil Andrew and Paul Stanley supporting him on the board. When Paul retired in 2016, he suggested his colleague take over on the board – and David Hedgley joined, bringing new energy to the business.  In 2022, Shirley Kennett joined the board to further strengthen strategy and company oversight.
Under their leadership, our team has grown and we have continuously released cutting-edge Portable Pilot Units (PPUs), including the popular GyroPilot Plus and the ChannelPilot RTK. 

We’re proud to say that today we are global leaders in precision positioning, orientation technologies and monitoring systems for the maritime industry. Since our beginnings, we have continued to develop new solutions in response to the evolving needs of marine pilots and maritime operators around the world.

In 2023, we completed the development and testing of CanalPilot, designed specifically to meet the demanding navigation requirements of the Panama Canal. This was followed by another significant milestone in 2025, when our Non-Portable Positioning Unit for Tugs (NPUT) won an international tender with the Panama Canal for deployment across its tug fleet.

And our innovation hasn’t stopped there. In 2026, we introduced ChannelPilot X, the next generation of our ChannelPilot family. Compact, lightweight and adaptable, ChannelPilot X brings three operating modes into one PPU, allowing pilots to select the level of independence required for each transit. It represents the latest step in more than two decades of developing navigation technology around the real-world needs of maritime pilots.

Today, our systems support safer navigation, greater operational efficiency and more informed decision-making for customers around the world. From Portable Pilot Units to fixed and specialised navigation systems, we continue to listen to the industry, develop new technology and find better ways to support those navigating some of the world’s most challenging waters.

Not bad for a company based on a remote island in the Pacific!