Pohang, South Korea. (March 5, 2025): It is a barge that turns into a pier which then converts to a causeway capable of delivering hundreds of troops and equipment ashore. In this photo by Corporal Nicholas Martinez, a Sailor with Beachmaster Unit 1, Naval Beach Group 1, offloads a Humvee using the Navy’s Improved Navy Lighterage System (INLS) from a waiting ship. Beachmaster Unit 1 controls landing craft and coordinates movement of equipment, troops, and supplies to the beach.

The INLS is used when the water is too shallow for the ship to deliver supplies via traditional port facilities. In the past, commanders had few options when dockside berths were unavailable. Often landing craft or small boats would be used to ferry supplies but this was a complicated and slow process.

Today, INLS facilitates loading or unloading ships using barges comprised of powered and non-powered floating platforms. Assembled at sea, these platforms are interchangeable and can be fitted together to form a ramp or shuttle from ships at anchor to the shore.

One configuration is the Roll-on/Roll-off Discharge Facility (RRDF), a floating transfer dock that enables ships to lower their ramps and transfer cargo directly to the shore. A RRDF causeway can span up to 1,800 feet and can be assembled and ready to transport in thirty-six hours or less.

The Navy has plans for these floating platforms to function as mobile bases deployed in international waters when ports are unavailable. In the meantime, these modular causeways at sea help sustain Marine units anywhere they decide to go.