Mercy Ships’ Latest Floating Hospital “Global Mercy” Set to Receive Her first Patients

Both ships in the Mercy Ships fleet, the Africa Mercy and the Global Mercy, next to each other in Tenerife, Spain.

Mercy Ships’ newest floating hospital is ready to serve patients across West Africa. Since its completion in 2021, the new ship fittingly named Global Mercy has been filled with an atmosphere of expectation for its early occupants.

Preparation had been done and the crew have been waiting on board to welcome patients for their life changing surgeries.

Ghanaians Janet and Lawrence Adjei have been living on board the ship with their four children as volunteers in the past year, taking part in the preparation and waiting with anticipation for its first patients.

Lawrence and Janet Adjei and their children in front of the Global Mercy.

Janet says; “It’s going to be a nice thing to see the patients come in and be healed physically, emotionally, and spiritually.”

Her husband, Lawrence Adjei, the Global Mercy’s bosun, has been working with Mercy Ships since 1991, serving all over West Africa. In the past year, he has been working in the Canary Islands, preparing the deck and the crew of the brand-new floating hospital.

Speaking about the hospital, Mercy Ships Director of Clinical Services Nathan Claus said, “This will be a historic field service. This place really is incredible.”

“It’s amazing how much surgery and training we will do in this place,” Claus continued. “How many patients, caregivers, trainees, crew, and day crew will be on board at any given time. Decks 3 and 4 will be bustling, and we can’t wait for that.”

The new hospital has several advantages. Many of the off-ship facilities, like the dockside medical tents, have been moved on board. This saves weeks of setup and tear-down, allowing more time for surgeries. Built-in cameras will allow trainees to watch surgeries remotely, exponentially expanding training opportunities.

The hospital has more physical space, with six operating rooms and 199 beds, significantly increasing the number of surgeries that can be performed during a field service.

Caroline, Hospitality Staff, and Mike Kirchner, Science Teacher, in front of the Global Mercy.

Global Mercy and its sister ship, Africa Mercy are run by international Christian charity ‘Mercy Ships’,  and they sail to African countries where their team of volunteer medics perform life-changing surgeries free of charge.

According to their website; “Mercy Ships has focused our attention on providing surgery as well as strengthening the healthcare infrastructure in the nations we serve. Thanks to the faithful support of friends and partners, children and families suffering from painful, disfiguring, and often-preventable diseases have been able to find the healing they so desperately needed.

Despite our impact, many more children and families are waiting. We believe that, together with the nations we serve, we have the potential to make a difference in the lives of thousands in the immediate future and for decades to come. With the arrival of our new custom-built hospital ship, the Global Mercy, our capacity to provide free surgery and medical training will more than double.”

Crew transition from the Africa Mercy to the Global Mercy.

The Global Mercy will soon be making her way to Senegal, and the team is looking forward to serving their first patients for 2023.