MV Global Mercy
Humanitarian Hospital Ship / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MV Global Mercy is the world's largest civilian hospital ship, constructed as the first purpose-built floating hospital for humanitarian organization Mercy Ships.[2] The contract to build the vessel was awarded to Stena RoRo of Göteborg, Sweden in 2014. Construction was done by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) at the Tianjin Xingang Shipyard, Tianjin, China and was completed in 2021.[3] The Global Mercy sailed to Antwerp, Belgium in 2021[4] for outfitting. In February 2022, the vessel sailed to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for a two-week public relations stopover where it was unveiled to visitors for the first time. In May 2022 the ship sailed on its maiden voyage to Africa where it joined the other vessel in the Mercy Ships fleet, the Africa Mercy, in Dakar, Senegal to begin operating as a floating training center for the first time.
History | |
---|---|
Name | Global Mercy |
Owner | Mercy Ships |
Operator | Mercy Ships |
Port of registry | Malta |
Ordered | 2013 |
Builder |
|
In service | 2023 |
Identification | IMO number: 9726499 |
Status | In service |
General characteristics | |
Type | Hospital ship |
Tonnage | |
Length | 174.0 m (570 ft 10 in)[1] |
Beam | 28.6 m (93 ft 10 in) |
Draft | 6.15 m (20 ft 2 in) |
Decks | 12 |
Installed power | 4 × Wärtsilä 6L32 diesels |
Propulsion | 2 × ABB Azipod CO propellers |
Speed | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
Capacity | 641 |
From February to June 2023, Global Mercy was docked in the Port of Dakar, Senegal for her first surgical field service. Welcoming patients from Senegal as well as the neighboring The Gambia, Mercy Ships served two nations from one port for the very first time. In the span of five months, nearly 800 surgeries took place on board.[5] Approximately 600 healthcare professionals received training during this time.[6]
In August 2023, the Global Mercy arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone for its next field service, where a crew of volunteer professionals aims to perform more than 2,000 surgeries over the course of 10 months. More than 200 healthcare professionals across the surgical ecosystem will receive training.[citation needed]
Global Mercy doubles the surgical capacity and patient beds of Mercy Ships and has an expected lifespan of 50 years. It is expected that more than 150,000 lives will be transformed through surgery alone on the Global Mercy.[7][8]