The estimation of geoacoustic parameters of marine sediments and sub-sediment layers involves the measurement of acoustic fields in the ocean waveguide for comparison with accurate forward propagation models. This paper discusses self-noise geoacoustic inversion of tow-ship noise data acquired via a horizontal towed array from the standpoint of near-field matched-field processing (MFP). In particular, the sensitivity of the reconstructed source power to perturbations in the parameters of a short-range propagation model are quantified. Through simulations and experimental results, it is shown that even very quiet ships radiate sufficient noise power to enable self-noise inversion of basic geoacoustic parameters such as effective bottom velocity. The experimental results presented are particularly encouraging in view of the high level of interference shown to be tolerated from nearby shipping.