Australian vessel designer and operator Seatransport and its sister company Sealease are part of the ManTech Advanced Systems International team that has been awarded the Indo-Pacific Logistics and Sustainment Services (ILS2) contract, the Queensland-based group said recently.
The General Services Administration (GSA) awarded the delivery order to ManTech on September 30. It has a potential value of US$2.98 billion if extended to its full seven-year term, ending September 29, 2033. Six bids were received.
The cost-plus-award-fee order covers integrated logistics support for US Special Operations Command Pacific and partner forces across the US Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility.
Its tasks include addressing logistics gaps, developing plans for and putting in place expeditionary logistics infrastructure, delivering training to military and host-nation personnel, and sustaining transport and medical evacuation capabilities.
The place of performance is Camp H M Smith in Hawaii.
Sealease Chairman Stuart Ballantyne described the award as an endorsement of Seatransport's designs for stern landing vessels (SLVs).
The company said its 73-metre SLV Matilda 1 (pictured), on charter to ManTech, has completed beaching and dry-out trials in the Northern Territory and is now sailing from Sydney to Okinawa.
The US Marine Corps announced a three-year charter of the vessel in July for littoral manoeuvre and sustainment experimentation with the Australian Army, the results of which will inform requirements for the US Navy's medium landing ship programme.
Seatransport is offering newbuild SLV designs of 73, 90 and 120 metres for ILS2. Through its partnership with Deployable Energy, these can be fitted with micro modular reactors (MMRs), which the company said would allow years of operation without refuelling and the supply of power to shore grids while alongside.
Lloyd's Register granted approval in principle in February for a hybrid concept combining MMRs with diesel-electric propulsion in 73- and 90-metre SLV designs. Reactors of 1.2–2.6 MW are under consideration.
The Fiji Government said in March 2025 that it supported investigating reactor integration into the 73-metre SLV it had committed to acquiring, citing the cost of imported diesel for power generation.
Sealease said a team from the company will be involved in ManTech's US activities and will work with US shipyards.
