On the night of 11–12 December 1942 "Karsik", escorted by , was the first large vessel to arrive at Oro Bay delivering four Stuart light tanks that were then transported and landed by barges within miles of the battlefront at Buna. Mayo notes the fact a large ship had arrived and thus the supply line had opened as having perhaps even greater significance than the arrival of the tanks. The subsequent, routine, supply runs of Operation Lilliput supporting the Allied campaign were with few exceptions made by the KPM ships with some damaged or lost.