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Posted by Dale Crisp
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04 Nov, 2026
IN ANOTHER WIN for Australian designers/builders the U.S. Marine Corps has chartered SeaTransport’s Matilda 1, a specialised Stern Landing Vessel (SLV), to test and develop new tactics for coastal warfare.
The three-year deal, in close partnership with the Australian Army, was awarded to ManTech Advanced International Systems and sits inside a longer, US$3 billion IndoPacific Logistics Sustainment Services contract secured by the Herndon, Virginia-based defense contractor. Queensland’s Sealease /SeaTransport Group is a member of the winning ManTech team.
The SeaTransport-designed vessel, built by Karimun Anugrah Sejati in Batam, Indonesia, is a 73-metre purpose-built vessel intended to land personnel and equipment directly onto diverse shorelines. Its shallow-draft design and specialiced stern ramp allow it to access remote beaches, “providing a vital logistics link for the Marine Corps’ Stand-In Forces. These small, mobile units are a cornerstone of Force Design modernization, created to operate discreetly within contested maritime environments,” the Marine Corps said.
Matilda 1, on charter to ManTech, underwent successful beaching and dry-out trials in the Northern Territory in August and now is en-route from Sydney to Okinawa. It can carry up to 550 tonnes of cargo over a 4,000 nautical-mile range.
Chair of Sealease and SeaTransport, Stuart Ballantyne, told DCN “this is a resounding endorsement of SeaTansport’s stern landing vessel designs, the only amphibious vessel designs capable of ocean crossings.
“This is just the beginning. Our teaming with Houston-based Deployable Energy on micro modular reactors future-proofs these newbuild 73-, 90- and 120-metre SLVs, achieving previously unattainable capability of achieving years of operation without requiring fuel or producing emissions," Dr Ballantyne said.
"At the same time these vessels, when alongside, can supply the shore electrical grid with cheaper nuclear power.”
To maximize its strategic impact, Matilda 1 will make its permanent homeport in the Northern Territory, positioned to support units such as the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin and the Australian Army's 1st Division, the Marine Corps says.
“From its Australian base, the SLV will be utilised for operations and experimentation across the West Pacific and Oceania. This experimentation phase will focus on logistics-centric maneouver and sustainment, and the refinement of tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) for operating within the littoral water space.
“Notably, Matilda 1 represents the second platform employed for such experimentation while the U.S. Navy matures the Medium Landing Ship (LSM) program. The SLV is the tangible result of rigorous service-wide concept development and close coordination with international allies and partners to bridge a current capability gap in littoral mobility.”
The Marine Corp this week also announced it had accepted the first prototype of a new Australian-designed ancillary surface craft (ASC), delivered to the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory after being built by Birdon America.
