A new stern landing vessel (SLV) designed by Australian naval architecture firm Seatransport has completed undergoing contractor and end user sea trials.
The 73-metre Matilda 1 is now en route to Darwin and will undergo final preparations prior to being operated under a three-year lease with the US Marine Corps, primarily within the Asia-Pacific.
Built by Karimun Anugrah Sejati of Batam, Indonesia, the SLV will be able to transport up to 550 tonnes of cargo over 4,000 nautical miles. Seatransport CEO Dr Stuart Ballantyne said she can achieve 85 per cent of her designed speed in head sea state five and predominant waves in standard tradewind areas.
The SLV’s deck is configured for the transport of 84 TEUs stowed either longitudinally or transversely. The stern ramp is 12.7 metres wide and is of unrestricted height for facilitating rapid operations on or off a beach, whereas most examples of bow landing craft only have five- to six-metre wide ramps with restricted height.
According to Ballantyne, the design was developed to be able to withstand a drone attack, “such as the Ukrainian attack on a large Russian LCT hitting on the ramp hinge and successfully sinking it.” The SLV also incorporates a well deck, the geometry of which can withstand total swamping.
The vessel 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.
