Mercy Ships has been selected as an official charity partner by the maritime branch of the Federation of Norwegian Industries.
The branch represents hundreds of maritime equipment suppliers, designers and shipyards.
Mercy Ships is expanding its fleet with a third hospital ship, in addition to the Global Mercy and Africa Mercy, after securing financial support for the newbuild from the charitable foundation of container shipping giant MSC Group in April.
Martin Aarflot, national director of Mercy Ships Norway, said: “Gaining this coveted status as the federation’s chosen charity partner for maritime clearly has great significance for us in terms of recognition and valuable support for our work from the globally renowned Norwegian maritime industry — and we think this is a win-win deal.
“We are keen to engage with the Norwegian maritime sector to procure the resources and expertise we need to execute this state-of-the-art newbuild project and believe this can also be a prestigious reference to bolster the market reputation of suppliers.”
The new 174-metre vessel, with 7,000 square metres of hospital space spanning two decks, will have six operating rooms, a fully equipped laboratory, and training facilities and accommodation for 600 crew and guests.
Construction work at China’s Guangzhou Shipyard International will begin with steel-cutting in December next year, followed by keel-laying and launch of the hull in November 2026.
Two years of outfitting will follow, before scheduled delivery in March 2028, and then a year of equipping hospital facilities.
“We are still looking to fill gaps in the makers’ list for the newbuild, so there remains a lot of potential for Norwegian suppliers to participate in this project. If you want to be part of this new adventure with us, now is the opportunity,” Aarflot said.
Mercy Ships is also recruiting volunteers on board its vessels, from seafarers and technicians to catering staff, as well as medical personnel.
Since being founded in 1978, the charity has performed more than 117,000 surgeries while training 54,000 medical professionals to strengthen local healthcare services, improving the lives of almost 3m people.
