Marines Begin Testing Chartered Landing Vessel Matilda 1 in the Pacific

A specialized landing vessel named Matilda 1 has joined Marine Corps experimentation in the Pacific, providing the service with a new way to move Marines and equipment between ships, islands and remote beaches.

The 240-foot stern landing vessel has a shallow draft that allows it to operate in coastal waters and reach beaches inaccessible to many vessels of a similar size. Unlike a traditional amphibious ship, Matilda 1 unloads cargo through a ramp at its stern.

The Australian company Seatransport designed the vessel, and Indonesian shipbuilder Karimun Anugrah Sejati constructed it. Matilda 1 entered service earlier this year and became available to the Marine Corps through a three-year charter managed by MariGuard LLC.

The agreement allows the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory to test maritime concepts without purchasing the vessel or launching a costly military shipbuilding program.

Maj. Brandon Griffith, who leads logistics science and technology efforts at the Warfighting Laboratory, said chartering commercial vessels allows the Corps to begin experimentation much more quickly. The service is also evaluating whether similar arrangements could support future testing.

Matilda 1 will help Marines develop the Stand-in Forces concept, which calls for small, distributed units to operate from islands and austere coastal locations throughout the Pacific.

The vessel is expected to serve as a temporary bridge while the Navy develops the Medium Landing Ship. That future class is intended to transport Marines, vehicles and supplies between islands and deliver them directly to remote beaches.

The Navy has named the new vessels the McClung class in honor of Marine Maj. Megan McClung, who was killed in Iraq in 2006. Current plans call for a fleet of between 18 and 35 ships. The first has been ordered, but construction has not yet begun.

Matilda 1 takes its name from the longstanding partnership between U.S. Marines and the Australian Army.

After the Battle of Guadalcanal during World War II, the 1st Marine Division adopted the Australian song “Waltzing Matilda” as an unofficial anthem. Warfighting Laboratory officials said the vessel’s name honors that shared history and the two nations’ continuing commitment to mutual defense in the Pacific.

The Matilda 1 agreement is the Warfighting Laboratory’s second charter involving an experimental maritime vessel.

From 2021 through 2024, the Corps chartered the HOS Resolution, an offshore supply vessel modified with ramps for loading and unloading equipment. Testing with that ship helped influence the requirements and design concepts for the Medium Landing Ship.

Unlike the converted HOS Resolution, Matilda 1 was designed from the beginning to perform landing and cargo-delivery missions.

Although the current charter is focused on the Pacific, Marine officials believe the same approach could eventually support experimentation in other regions. Lessons collected during a deployment in one theater could help shape operations throughout the Marine Corps.

Matilda 1’s charter began in June, but the vessel has already demonstrated several important capabilities while operating with Australian forces near Darwin.

During testing, it successfully landed on a beach with a 1:40 gradient—a moderate-to-gentle slope that can prevent larger vessels from reaching the shoreline.

The vessel is scheduled to travel to Okinawa for exercises with III Marine Expeditionary Force. Marines will evaluate its cargo capacity, operational range, stability and performance in realistic conditions.

Matilda 1 has a reported range of approximately 4,000 nautical miles and can carry as many as 84 shipping containers. Its V-shaped hull is designed to maintain stability and speed while traveling through relatively rough seas.

According to Seatransport, the vessel can maintain approximately 85 percent of its designed speed while traveling into Sea State 5 conditions, giving it an offshore capability uncommon among many amphibious craft.

Early testing has encouraged Marine officials searching for an affordable way to expand maritime mobility while the permanent landing-ship fleet remains under development.

For now, Matilda 1 gives the Corps a working platform it can use to refine tactics, identify requirements and prepare Marines for distributed operations across the Pacific.