During the last days of May the 9th Division embarked at Morotai onto the ships which would transport it to Brunei Bay, and undertook rehearsals for the landing. Due to a shortage of shipping, the available vessels were heavily loaded and many soldiers were forced to endure cramped and hot conditions during the ten days before the landing. Australian official historian Gavin Long later wrote that for many troops these conditions "were as uncomfortable as any of the experiences that followed" during the campaign. The 24th Brigade Group was carried by a variety of landing ships: the two large Australian LSIs and , as well the attack cargo ship , LSD , ten LSTs, five LCIs and seven LSMs from the United States Navy. A total of 38 small LCVPs and 26 LCMs were also assigned to land the brigade once it arrived off Labuan. Due to the coral reefs surrounding the island, the assault waves landed in LVTs of the US Army's 727th Amphibious Tractor Battalion. The convoy carrying the 9th Division left Morotai on 4 June and arrived in Brunei Bay before dawn on 10 June. The main body of the convoy anchored off Labuan, and the remainder proceeded to the Brunei area. A Japanese aircraft dropped a bomb near two of the transport ships off Labuan at 6:51 am, but caused no damage.