49, that many? Do they all float?

Britain used civilian vessels in the Falklands war to transport personnel and equipment half way across the globe. It was facing a militarily weaker opponent, but the logistics challenges were formidable.

Unless Australia expects its next conflict to occur against a much weaker opponent with limited air and naval defences, and that it will require shipping large quantities of equipment and large numbers of soldiers over several thousand kilometres, then STUFT will probably not be much use. Ballantyne rightly points out that Australia’s existing submarines are “not remotely considered as a deterrent by any likely enemy” I suspect the same is true for re-purposed passenger ferries.