Stena RoRo has completed a successful sea trial of Global Mercy, the newest hospital ship for Mercy Ships, a Christian charity which operates a fleet of hospital ships
Global Mercy is a collaborative project with several subcontractors. The project began in 2013 with construction taking place at Tianjin Xingang shipyard in northern China.
Project leader Stena RoRo is responsible for the design, contracting and execution. The project places specific design and layout demands, dependent on the special needs that hospital operations entail. Deltamarin is the designer and French shipbroker Barry Rogliano Salles assisted in preparing the contract. The vessel is classified by Lloyd’s Register, will sail under the Malta flag and operate along the coast of Africa.
Stena RoRo project leader and site manager Rikard Olsson said “It is important the ship is built according to the specifications. This is the first time the shipyard has built this kind of ship, which can be compared to a cruise ship. We have worked hard to meet the required standard and everything has gone very well. We are very pleased with the collaboration with the shipyard.”
Stena RoRo based the project on a concept for passenger and cargo ships for international travel in the ropax class. The concept has been modified to a purely passenger ship design with hospital activities. 174-m long, 4,500-dwt Global Mercy will have six operating theatres, 200 hospital beds, a laboratory, a patient clinic and an eye and dental clinic, accommodating 950 people including 641 crew members.
Stena RoRo chief executive Per Westling commented, "Global Mercy is a special project we are proud to be a part of. Mercy Ships is doing a fantastic job and with the new ship, their capacity to provide free medical care to many extremely vulnerable people will be more than twice as large.”
On its maiden voyage, Global Mercy will sail to Antwerp, Belgium where crew members will board and the last medical equipment will be installed, before berthing in Rotterdam for a fortnight where the ship will be presented to sponsors, potential volunteers and other interested parties.
The ship will begin its mission in 2022 when it is expected to call at Dakar, Senegal.
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