Mercy leaves San Diego

The Navy hospital ship is designed to help Pacific states prepare for disasters

The crew prepares the hospital ship USNS "Mercy" for departure from San Diego for this year's Pacific Partnership mission. For 17 years, the Pacific Partnership has brought together medical professionals from several countries to provide medical care and other services in Pacific nations such as Micronesia, Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The mission is expected to last several months. Previous missions have lasted up to 150 days. Last year, as part of the Pacific Partnership, a humanitarian aid and disaster relief workshop was held in Palau with Taiwanese disaster management experts, where participants learnt about early warning systems, search and rescue and other topics. Originally developed in response to the December 2004 tsunami that devastated parts of South and Southeast Asia following a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, the Pacific Partnership has changed over the years to focus on strengthening relationships with other nations rather than just providing direct medical assistance. According to an April 29 report by the news website AL.com, the Mercy has been accompanied in the past by its sister ship, the USNS Comfort, which is currently undergoing a $26 million refit in Mobile, Alabama.

The 894-foot ships are former oil tankers that have been gutted and converted into floating hospitals with 1,000 beds. In 2018, the Navy leadership considered scrapping one of the ships to save money, but backed down after the House Armed Services Committee objected. The US Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard are among the participants in the exercise. Representatives of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces are also taking part for the first time, as the Japanese General Staff announced on Friday.

Source: Stars and Stripes / Wilson