Kuwaiti marine and land equipment firm Seas and Deserts has received three landing craft from shipbuilding company Strategic Marine Australia.

The 12.9m-long aluminium ships feature a 4m beam, 0.45m draught and can handle a 5t payload or a high mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle.

The ships have a 28kt cruising speed and a range of nearly 380 nautical miles completely loaded. Two 300 horsepower V8, Yamaha outboard motors with 40kt speed at lightship supply power to the vessels, the company said.

The landing craft will run between Kuwait and nearby islands in the Arabian Gulf area, and will be deployed to transfer light equipment and vehicles across the region.