Sea trial completed for hospital ship Global Mercy

STOCKHOLM, May 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Stena RoRo is leading the project for the construction of the Global Mercy, the world's largest civilian hospital ship. After several years of construction at the Tianjin Xingang shipyard in northern China, the final test, the official sea trial, has now been completed with good results. The shipyard will present the ship for delivery this summer and the vessel will then sail to Antwerp in Belgium on its maiden voyage, where some members of the crew will board and the medical equipment supplemented. This will be followed by a visit to Rotterdam, and after this the Global Mercy will be ready for its first important mission in West Africa.

Stena RoRo is building the Global Mercy on behalf of the international charity organization Mercy Ships, which provides free life-changing healthcare to people in some of the world's poorest countries. The project began in 2013 and Stena RoRo is responsible for design, contracting and execution. The construction project is unique in its kind and places major and specific demands on both design and layout, dependent on the special needs that hospital operations entail. On board are operating theatres and hospital wards, and everything needed for both patients and those working on board, including schools and preschools for the children of the volunteers. Sea trialThe sea trial, which the Global Mercy has just completed, means that the ship's systems and functions – such as engine performance and fuel consumption, navigation and radio equipment, maneuverability and safety systems – are tested for several days at sea.

"The purpose of a sea trial is to ensure that the ship's systems are working properly during operation and that the requirements of the specifications and applicable standards are met," says Per Westling, CEO Stena RoRo. "The hospital services to be provided on the Global Mercy entail increased requirements for good ventilation and minimization of vibrations, for example. This was also checked and she was approved on all counts."

Global project under Swedish management

The Global Mercy is the result of a global collaborative project with the participation of a number of subcontractors from around the world. Swedish Stena RoRo is leading the project and Finnish Deltamarin is conducting work with design. A French shipbroker, Barry Rogliano Salles, (BRS Group), assisted in preparing the contract and the ship is being built at the Tianjin Xingang shipyard in northern China. The vessel, that is classified by the Lloyd's Register in the United Kingdom, will sail under the Maltese flag and operate along the coast of Africa.