Sea trials begin for new landing vessel prior to hand-over to US military

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.