''Daishan Dao'' is a Type 920
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 (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. I ...
of the
People's Liberation Army Navy of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. ''Daishan Dao'' is also known as ''Peace Ark'' during peacetime,
and has received
NATO reporting name Anwei class (meaning comfort).
''Daishan Dao'' is the lead ship and the only ship in her class,
Type 920 hospital ship.
History
The ship was launched in 2007 with the stated intention of giving China a platform to provide a better means to providing quicker humanitarian response to disasters around the world, but others contend it also allows China to extend the navy's blue water capabilities.
[http://china-defense.blogspot.com/2010/06/chinas-growing-maritime-hadr.html China Growing Maritime...]
On 1 September 2010, the hospital ship embarked on a three-month "Harmonious Mission 2010" to the
Gulf of Aden with a total of 428 officers including 100 medical workers. En route she visited and provided medical treatment to the local people of Djibouti, Tanzania, Kenya, the Seychelles and Bangladesh.
During "Harmonious Mission 2011", ''Peace Ark'' visited Cuba, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, the first Chinese voyage to the Caribbean.
[
In November 2013, she was deployed to Tacloban, ]Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
to assist in the recovery from Typhoon Haiyan
Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the ...
.
''Peace Ark'' also participated as part of the Chinese contribution to Exercise RIMPAC
RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held ...
2014 in addition to the United States hospital ship USNS ''Mercy''.
Timeline 2010--2019
In October 2017, she traveled to Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
and provided medical services in the country. According to media, her crew examined more than 3000 people and performed dozens of surgeries.
Characteristics
''Daishan Dao'' is the sole ship of its class, and is assigned pennant number 866. She is assigned to the South Sea Fleet and based out of Zhoushan in Zhejiang province. She has a capacity of 300 beds, 20 ICU beds, 8 operating theatres, and can perform 40 major surgeries a day, in addition to X-ray, ultrasound, CT, hypothermia, hemodialysis, traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...
, and dental facilities.Geneva Conventions
upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conve ...
, ''Daishan Dao'' and her crew do not carry any offensive weapons, while the ship is painted white with red crosses to mark her as a hospital ship.
Gallery
File:Chinese Navy hospital ship Peace Ark (866) departs Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam following the conclusion of Rim of the Pacific 2016. 160805-N-AI605-055.jpg, ''Peace Ark'' during Rim of the Pacific 2016.
File:Navy_Surgeon_General_Visits_the_Peace_Ark_140702-N-UD469-146.jpg, The computerized tomography (CT) scan aboard the ''Peace Ark''
Similar vessels
* Other PLAN hospital ships:
** 832 ''Nanyun'' and 833 ''Nankang'' - two Nankang-class hospital ship are 2150-ton modified Qiongsha class attack transport ships built in the 1980s and similar size to small passenger ships; has a helipad at the stern; built in Guangzhou and remains in service in the South Sea FleetUnited States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
70,000 tons :
**
**
References
External links
Type 920 Hospital ship
Mystery Chinese Hospital ship 866
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daishan Dao
Ships built in China
2007 ships
Hospital ships
Auxiliary ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy