Type 920 hospital ship
 Hospital ship 866 (Peace Ark) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 China
| |
| Name: | 866 |
| Ordered: | 1 |
| Builder: | CSIC (Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited) |
| Launched: | 2007 |
| Commissioned: | December 22, 2008 |
| Status: | in active service, as of 2016 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | approximately 14,000 tons |
| Length: | 178 metres |
| Beam: | approximately 25 metres |
| Propulsion: | twin engines |
| Aircraft carried: | Z-8JH (27 passengers or 15 stretchers) |
| Aviation facilities: | hangar |
The Type 920 Hospital Ship is a class of hospital ship in the People's Liberation Army Navy of the Peoples' Republic of China.
920 is the type of the ship. 866 is the PLA Navy pennant number of this ship, 岱山岛号 (Dai san dao hao) is the navy name, 和平方舟 (Peace Ark) is the name in peacetime.[1]
History
Launched in 2007, China is one of a few nations with naval floating hospitals. The Chinese rationale for the ship was to give China a platform to provide a better means to providing quicker humanitarian response to disasters around the world, but others contend it also allows China to extend the navy's blue water capabilities.[2] The single ship of the class has a pennant number 866. The ship is assigned to the East Sea Fleet and based out of Hubei. The ship has 500 beds, 35 ICUs, 12 operating theatres, and the capacity to accommodate 60 major surgeries a day – about as many as a large hospital in Beijing.[2][3] The ship is unarmed and painted white with red crosses to conform to the Geneva Convention criteria for a civilian hospital ship; firing upon it is potentially a war crime under international law.
Operations
On September 1, 2010, the hospital ship embarked on a three-month "Harmonious Mission 2010" to the Gulf of Aden with a total of 428 officers including 100 medical workers. En route it visited and provided medical treatment to the local people of Djibouti, Tanzania, Kenya, the Seychelles and Bangladesh.[1][4]
During "Harmonious Mission 2011", Peace Ark visited Cuba, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, the first Chinese voyage to the Caribbean.[4]
In November 2013, the ship was deployed to Tacloban, Philippines to assist in the recovery from Typhoon Haiyan.[5]
Peace Ark also participated as part of the Chinese contribution to Exercise RIMPAC 2014 in addition to the United States hospital ship USNS Mercy.[6]
Similar vessels
Other PLAN hospital ships:
- Ships 832 (Nanyun) and 833 (Nankang) - two Nankang-class hospital ship are two 150-ton modified Qiongsha class attack transport ships built in the 1980s and similar size to small passenger ships; has helipad at the stern; built in Guangzhou and remains in service in the South Sea Fleet[2]
- Y832 (Bei Kang) and Y834 (Dong Kang) - stationed at North Sea Fleet and East Sea Fleet
- Ship 82 (Shichang) - 9 500 ton part-time hospital ship built in 1997 as multi-role aviation training ship and can be reclassified as hospital ship/defense mobilization ship with modular units added;[2] deck space can accommodate modular units for treatment centre and wards; supports has two helipads
- Ship 865 - (approximately 30,000 ton) converted container ship with 14 modular medical units, heli pad and control tower; likely based at Sanya, Hainan Island
- Project 320 Ob' Class Hospital Ship - a retired Russian hospital ship (1980–1997) was purchased in 2007 with plans to restore it for PLAN service as hospital ship; built at Adolf Worski Shipyard in the 1980s
References
- 1 2 http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/slides/2010-09/01/content_11241842.htm
- 1 2 3 4 http://china-defense.blogspot.com/2010/06/chinas-growing-maritime-hadr.html China Growing Maritime...
- ↑ http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2009-10/27/content_12336470.htm
- 1 2 Dooley, Howard J. (Spring–Summer 2012). "The Great Leap Outward: China's Maritime Renaissance". The Journal of East Asian Affairs (Institute for National Security Strategy) 26 (1): 71 – via JSTOR. (subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "Chinese hospital ship Peace Ark's on 'friendship' mission to Philippines". South China Morning Post. November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "RIMPAC Tour Provides Glimpse Aboard Chinese Ship". Military.com. July 25, 2014.