 That core was augmented by vessels fleeing the Japanese advance , particularly twenty @-@ one Dutch vessels later known as the " KPM vessels " after the Dutch shipping line 's name , Koninklijke <unk> @-@ Maatschappij . As of 28 April 1942 the Army fleet had grown to twenty @-@ eight ships and by 24 January 1945 that fleet of large ships exceeded ninety with a peak of ninety @-@ eight by 1 August 1945 . That number did not count a much larger fleet of small vessels , ranging from landing craft , barges and other floating equipment to seagoing vessels under 1 @,@ 000 tons , including the Small Ships Section of requisitioned and locally constructed ( 2 @,@ 712 craft ) vessels manned largely by Australian civilian employees , 1 @,@ 719 as of June 1945 , of the U.S. Army , and many such vessels and floating equipment delivered from the United States . The permanent fleet of SWPA almost had as many vessels as the Army ’ s general fleet during some periods , though those vessels were often small , obsolete , in poor condition and under unorthodox management in comparison . 
