PLA hospital ship to set off on South Pacific tour

Peace Ark, the largest hospital ship of the People's Liberation Army Navy, will soon set off for a number of countries in South Pacific for humanitarian medical work, according to Senior Captain Liu Wensheng, spokesman for the PLA Navy.

Liu said on Sunday evening in Beijing the floating hospital will visit Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and East Timor during the Harmonious Mission 2023 operation.

This will be the ninth Harmonious Mission voyage for the vessel.

With a displacement of over 10,000 metric tons, the ship has more than 100 medical staff working in 16 clinical and auxiliary departments. It harbors multiple operating rooms and nursing stations and can accommodate roughly 1,000 patients at once. It has a blood bank and exam rooms that are capable of diagnosing and treating a variety of illnesses.

So far, Peace Ark has taken part in 10 overseas missions, providing medical services for roughly 250,000 people from 43 countries and regions since its commission in 2008.