Our newest ship, the Global Mercy, is the world’s largest purpose-built hospital ship capable of more than doubling our surgical and training capacity. Over her 50 year expected lifespan, more than 150,000 lives are estimated to be changed onboard through surgery alone!
With the help of countless volunteers, this medical marvel will more than double our capacity to deliver safe surgical care to people in need and provide medical training in the countries we serve. That means more lives saved, more lives transformed.
Our newest hospital ship
The 174-meter, 37,000-ton ship will have six operating rooms and house over 600 volunteers from around the globe representing many disciplines including surgeons, maritime crew, cooks, teachers, electricians, the host staff and more. The ship will also feature a 682-seat auditorium, student academy, gymnasium, café, shop and library – all of which have been designed to accommodate up to 950 crew onboard when docked in port.
The sequential steps in the building process include up to 16 months of detailed design work, construction of the hull and installation of machinery systems, outfitting the accommodation decks/hospital, extensive testing and trials prior to delivery from shipyard, installation of additional medical equipment and general supplies and further testing prior to deployment.
The Global Mercy’s hospital deck will be ready to carry out a wide range of surgeries like maxillofacial and plastic-reconstructive surgery to address tumour removal and debilitating burn contractures, cleft lip and palate repair, orthopaedics, cataract removal, and obstetric fistula repair.
This expansion and growth will facilitate more: more surgeries for those in need; more health professionals trained and mentored; MORE LIVES CHANGED!
