The world’s largest civilian hospital ship, the Global Mercy, was delivered to the charity organization Mercy Ships.
Stena RoRo has been working with the global project since 2013. The maiden voyage is to Europe where the Global Mercy will be outfitted before continuing to Senegal for its first contribution.
“We are very proud to take delivery of this special ship. The activities to be carried out on board have placed certain special and stringent demands on shipbuilding. For the shipyard, it was the first time they had built a vessel of this type – a challenge they have managed extremely well. For Mercy Ships, the delivery means that their capacity to provide care has more than doubled, and at Stena RoRo we are happy to be a part of their fantastic work through the construction of the Global Mercy
says Per Westling, managing director for Stena RoRo
The ship’s captain, Taylor Perez, along with a crew are now sailing the Global Mercy on its maiden voyage to Belgium, where over the course of a few months it will be staffed with volunteers and have the last of the medical equipment installed.
The vessel will then continue to Rotterdam to be presented to sponsors, future volunteers, the media and other interested parties. After that, the Global Mercy will be ready to sail to West Africa for service at Dakar in Senegal.
The Global Mercy has among other things, six operating theatres, beds for 200 people, a laboratory, and eye clinic. The ship is the first to have been designed and built for the specific needs of the organization. Global Mercy is also equipped with first-class training facilities.
