- Type 920 hospital ship
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Hospital ship 866 (Daishando)Career (China) 
Name: 866 Ordered: 1 Builder: CSIC (Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited) Launched: 2007 Commissioned: December 22, 2008 Status: in active service, as of 2011[update] General characteristics Displacement: approximately 14,000 tons Length: 178 metres Beam: approximately 25 metres Propulsion: twin shaft diesel turbines 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 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.[1]
Contents
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.[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 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.[2][3] 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 Aden 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.[1]
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[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 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[4]
- 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
References
- ^ a b http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/slides/2010-09/01/content_11241842.htm
- ^ a b c d 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
- ^ http://www2.chinadaily.com.cn/language_tips/cdaudio/2009-03/24/content_7610480.htm
External links
Categories:- Ships built in China
- 2007 ships
- Hospital ships
- Ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy
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