Stena RoRo builds world’s largest civilian hospital ship

Stena RoRo, on behalf of the charity Mercy Ships, was responsible for the design, contractual arrangements and site supervision of the newbuild, running a global project with subcontractors from around the world since 2013. The detailed design was done by Deltamarin, and the ship was built at the Tianjin Xingang shipyard in northern China. The Global Mercy is classified by Lloyd’s Register, sails under the Maltese flag and will operate along the coast of Africa.

Hospital activities to be carried out on board entail specific requirements that influence everything from the design and layout of the hull to ventilation and other technical solutions. “When we were commissioned to build the Global Mercy, we began with an existing concept for passenger ships and freight for long-distance international RoPax service,” says Per Westling, managing director for Stena RoRo. “We designed her as a pure passenger ship with hospital services instead. The car deck has been replaced by operating rooms and hospital wards.”

The ship houses operating rooms and hospital wards, a lab, eye clinic, dental clinic, training facilities and all that is needed both for in-patient care and those working on board, including schools and nursery schools for the crew’s children. The Global Mercy is rated for passenger service and, when in port, can accommodate 950 people including a crew of 641.

Mercy Ships, via hospital ships, provides free medical care and expands local healthcare capacity for the world’s most vulnerable people. The ships are staffed by volunteers from more than 60 countries. The Global Mercy is the first of the charity’s ships to have been designed and built specifically for their needs. Previous ships have been converted into hospital ships.

The project has brought together a number of OEMs, ranging from ABB, which supplied the podded propulsion systems and generators, Alfa Lava and Berg Propulsion, through to Wärtsilä, which supplied the generator engines. Other suppliers include Consilium, Evac, MacGregor, ScanMarine and Selectope. 

With the Global Mercy, their capacity to provide help is more than doubled. The new ship will come alongside the Africa Mercy, in operation since 2007. With both ships in service, Mercy Ships expects to conduct more than 5,000 operations each year, treat over 28,000 dental patients and train more than 2,800 local healthcare staff.

MAIN PARTICULARS – Global Mercy