An Australian-designed amphibious transport ship soon to enter service with the US military has commenced contractor sea trials ahead of delivery.
The 73-metre stern landing vessel (SLV) from Queensland-based naval architecture firm Seatransport was launched in late January in Batam, Indonesia, and has since commenced contractor sea trials in the littoral and archipelagic waters surrounding the shipbuilding precinct.
The SLV will shortly enter a three-year charter with the US military in support of operational objectives and to inform ongoing expeditionary requirements and concepts of operations.
Seatransport said the US military lease is the first adoption of a true SLV design by any defence force worldwide.
The vessel, christened Matilda 1, features a high-efficiency, high-redundancy quad-screw, diesel-electric propulsion system and a bow optimised for blue water transits at higher speeds, better seakeeping and increased range.
The designer said the SLV will enable US forces to transport significantly larger loads over much longer ranges than is possible with current and emerging navy bow ramp landing craft, in this case up to 550 tonnes of cargo (actual beaching load) at a deadweight of 1,500 out to 4,000 nautical miles in Sea State four.
Utilising a 670-square-metre cargo deck, representative military vehicle loads for Matilda 1 include 20 light utility vehicles, 18 mobile artillery rocket launchers, 16 trucks, or a dozen 32-tonne amphibious combat vehicles.
For containers, the cargo deck has 42 ground slots and the stability for double stacking of 84 twenty-foot ISO containers.
The SLV will be operated by a largely civilian crew and is expected to commence early activities in and around northern Australian waters and those of the near region.