“The maritime domain is now at the centre of geopolitics – from contested waters, to critical infrastructure, to transnational crime. We sit right at that intersection,” he said.

“Working with our defence colleagues, we can now fully operationalise our software to meet the requirements of the Defence Capability Plan, and deliver real-time intelligence and coordination across agencies,” he said.

“We began with the vision of enabling governments to make faster, better-informed decisions at sea. Now our technology is used globally to counter illegal fishing, transnational crime and threats to critical subsea infrastructure.”

Luxon said: “Starboard is a great example of what New Zealand does best – turning an idea into a world-class capability that contributes directly to our national security and to global stability.

“For a maritime nation with one of the largest exclusive economic zones on earth, technologies like this are essential to protect our oceans, our infrastructure and our way of life.”

While Starboard does not publicise its clients, it does not target retail users and it is understood to hold contracts with several New Zealand agencies and departments and a number of foreign governments.

In September the company raised $23 million in Series A funding in a round led by Altered Capital, OIF Ventures and King River Capital.

Starboard was founded by the Alexandra-based Xerra Earth Observation Institute – formerly known as the Centre for Space Science Technology – as a Government-backed regional research initiative to exploit satellite imagery.

Xerra received $14.7m in funding from MBIE in 2015, and another $7m in 2021 to spin off Starboard.

Starboard employs staff across New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.