Type 920 Hospital Ship
Encyclopedia
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 side number of this ship, 岱山岛号 (Daishandao) is the navy name, 和平方舟 (Peace Ark) is the name in peacetime.
with a total of 428 officers including 100 medical workers. Enroute it will also visit and provide medical treatment to the local people of Djibouti, Tanzania, Kenya, the Seychelles and Bangladesh.
Hospital ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....
in the People's Liberation Army Navy
People's Liberation Army Navy
The People's Liberation Army Navy is the naval branch of the People's Liberation Army , the military of the People's Republic of China. Until the early 1990s, the navy performed a subordinate role to the PLA Land Forces. Since then, it has undergone rapid modernisation...
of the Peoples' Republic of China.
920 is the type of the ship. 866 is the PLA Navy side number of this ship, 岱山岛号 (Daishandao) is the navy name, 和平方舟 (Peace Ark) is the name in peacetime.
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 allows China to extend the navy's blue water capabilities. The single ship of the class has a pennant number 866. The ship is assigned to the East Sea Fleet and based out of Daishandao. The ship has 300 beds, 20 ICUs, 8 operating theatres, and the capacity to accommodate 40 major surgeries a day – about as many as a large hospital in Beijing. The ship is unarmed and painted white with red crosses to conform to the Geneva Convention criteria for a civilian hospital ship.Mission
On September 1, 2010, the hospital ship embarked on a three months mission to the Gulf of AdenGulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden is located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen, on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and Somalia in the Horn of Africa. In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which is about 20 miles wide....
with a total of 428 officers including 100 medical workers. Enroute it will also visit and provide medical treatment to the local people of Djibouti, Tanzania, Kenya, the Seychelles and Bangladesh.
See also
Other PLAN hospital ships:- Ships 832 (Nanyun) and 833 (Nankang) - 2 Nankang-class hospital ship are 2 150-ton modified Qiongsha class attack transport ships built in the 1980s and similar size to small passenger ships; has helipad in rear; built in Guangzhou and remains in service in the South Sea Fleet
- 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; deck space can accommodate modular units for treatment centre and wards; supports has 2 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
- Ship 866 (Daishando) - 10,000 ton (half the size of 865) and likely a converted cruise ship with 500 beds, 8 surgery rooms; based in Zhoushan in eastern Zhejiang Province
- 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 Warski Shipyard in the 1980s