View source for Engineering:Hospital ship

{{Short description|Ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility}}
[[Image:090411-A-1786S-088 - USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) in Hati.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|United States Navy hospital ship USNS ''Comfort'' in 2009.]]
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.<ref>[http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=hospital%20ship Hospital Ship]{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (definition via [[Software:WordNet|WordNet]], [[Organization:Princeton University|Princeton University]])</ref> In the 19th century, redundant warships were used as moored hospitals for seamen.

The Second Geneva Convention prohibits military attacks on hospital ships that meet specified requirements, though belligerent forces have right of inspection and may take  patients, but not staff, as [[Social:Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]].<ref>{{cite web| title =Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea: Commentary of 2017, Article 22 : Notification and protection of military hospital ships | publisher =International Committee of the Red Cross | date=2017| url =https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Comment.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=1E5A1F4D6DBD9A08C1258115003C8B8B | access-date =15 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title =Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea. Commentary of 2017, Article 31 : Right of control and search of hospital ships and coastal rescue craft| publisher =International Committee of the Red Cross | date=2017|url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Comment.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=08D17FB215F46A6FC1258115003DCEA9| access-date =15 October 2019}}</ref>

==History==

===Early examples===
[[File:Wenceslas Hollar - Part of Tangier from above (State 3).jpg|thumb|Tangier circa 1670. Hospital ships were used during the evacuation of the port in the 1680s.]]
Hospital ships possibly existed in ancient times. The Athenian Navy had a ship named ''Therapia'', and the Roman Navy had a ship named ''Aesculapius'', their names indicating that they may have been hospital ships.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/GC_1949-II.pdf|title=GENEVA CONVENTION FOR THE AMELIORAT~ONOF THE CONDITION OF WOUNDED, SICK AND SHIPWRECKED MEMBERS OF ARMED FORCES AT SEA|editor=Pictet, Jean S.|year=1960|publisher=GENEVA INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Garraud, Dr. Robert M.|title=Les hapitaux flottants|publisher=Vie et Bontk, Paris|year=1952}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Grandclment, Vice-Admiral|title=Les navires-hapitaux|publisher=Revue internationale de la Croix-Rouge|date=May 1938|page=395}}</ref>

The earliest British hospital ship may have been the vessel ''Goodwill'', which accompanied a Royal Navy squadron in the Mediterranean in 1608 and was used to house the sick sent aboard from other ships.<ref name=Shaw>{{cite journal|last=Sutherland Shaw|first=J.J.|title=The Hospital Ship, 1608{{ndash}}1740|journal=The Mariner's Mirror|volume=22|issue=4|year=1936|doi=10.1080/00253359.1936.10657206|pages=422–426}}</ref> However this experiment in medical care was short-lived, with ''Goodwill'' assigned to other tasks within a year and her complement of convalescents simply left behind at the nearest port.<ref>{{cite book|last=Oppenheim|first=M.|title=A History of the Administration of the Royal Navy and of Merchant Shipping in Relation to the Navy|page=188|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofadminis00oppe#page/188/mode/2up|volume=1|publisher=The Bodley Head|year=1896|oclc=506062953}}</ref> It was not until the mid-seventeenth century that any Royal Navy vessels were formally designated as hospital ships, and then only two throughout the fleet. These were either hired merchant ships or elderly sixth rates, with the internal [[Engineering:Bulkhead (partition)|bulkheads]] removed to create more room, and additional ports cut through the deck and hull to increase internal ventilation.<ref name=Shaw/>

In addition to their sailing crew, these seventeenth century hospital ships were staffed by a surgeon and four surgeon's mates. The standard issue of medical supplies was bandages, soap, needles and [[Engineering:Bedpan|bedpan]]s. Patients were offered a bed or rug to rest upon, and given a clean pair of sheets. These early hospital ships were for the care of the sick rather than the wounded, with patients quartered according to their symptoms and infectious cases quarantined from the general population behind a sheet of canvas. The quality of food was very poor. In the 1690s, the surgeon aboard ''Siam'' complained that the meat was in an advanced state of [[Biology:Putrefaction|putrefaction]], the biscuits were weevil-ridden and bitter, and the bread was so hard that it stripped the skin off patients’ mouths.<ref name=Shaw/>

Hospital ships were also used for the treatment of wounded soldiers fighting on land. An early example of this was during an English operation to evacuate English Tangier in 1683. An account of this evacuation was written by Samuel Pepys, an eyewitness. One of the main concerns was the evacuation of sick soldiers "and the many families and their effects to be brought off". The hospital ships ''Unity'' and ''Welcome'' sailed for England on 18 October 1683, with 114 invalid soldiers and 104 women and children, arriving at The Downs on 14 December 1683.<ref name="McCallum">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5BXB9QtUfFQC|title=Military Medicine: From Ancient Times to the 21st Century|author=Jack Edward McCallum|year=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|pages=150–152|isbn=9781851096930}}</ref>

The number of medical personnel aboard Royal Navy hospital ships was slowly increased, with regulations issued in 1703 requiring that each vessel also carry six landsmen to act as surgical assistants, and four washerwomen. A 1705 amendment provided for a further five male nurses, and requisitions from the era suggest the number of sheets per patient was increased from one to two pairs.<ref name=Shaw/> On 8 December 1798, unfit for service as a warship, {{HMS|Victory}} was ordered to be converted to a hospital ship to hold wounded French and Spanish prisoners of war. According to Edward Hasted in 1798, two large hospital ships (also called lazarettos), (which were the surviving hulks of forty-four gun ships) were moored in Halstow Creek in Kent. The creek is an inlet from the River Medway and the River Thames. The crew of these vessels watched over ships coming to England, which were forced to stay in the creek under [[Medicine:Quarantine|quarantine]] to protect the country from infectious diseases including the [[Medicine:Plague (disease)|plague]].<ref name=hasted>{{cite journal |last=Hasted |first=Edward |year=1799 |title=Parishes |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=62945 |journal=The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |volume=6 |pages=34–40 |access-date=28 February 2014}}</ref>

From 1821 to 1870, the Seamen's Hospital Society provided HMS ''Grampus'', HMS ''Dreadnought'' and HMS ''Caledonia'' (later renamed ''Dreadnought'') as successive hospital ships moored at Deptford in London.<ref>{{cite web|title=Research guide A6: Greenwich and the National Maritime Museum|url=http://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/researchers/research-guides/research-guide-a6-greenwich-and-national-maritime-museum|website=Royal Museums Greenwich|access-date=12 February 2017}}</ref> In 1866, HMS ''Hamadryad'' was moored in [[Place:Cardiff|Cardiff]] as a seamen's hospital, replaced in 1905 by the Royal Hamadryad Seamen's Hospital.<ref>{{Citation |author=Phil Carradice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6DOIAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT52 |title=The Ships of Pembroke Dockyard |publisher=Amberley Publishing |pages=52–53 |year=2013 |format=e-book |isbn=978-1-4456-1310-9 }}</ref> Other redundant warships were used as hospitals for convicts and prisoners of war.

===Modern hospital ships===
[[File:Hospital ships, China; sketches showing the interior includi Wellcome V0015324.jpg|thumb|right|300x300px|HMS ''Melbourne'', the first modern hospital ship, served during the Second Opium War. Excerpt from ''The Illustrated London News'' about the ship (click to read).]]

The Royal Navy institutionalised the use of hospital ships during the first half of the nineteenth century. Hospital ships were generally superior in their standard of service and sanitation to the medical provision available at the time for convalescent soldiers. The modern hospital ship began to emerge during the Crimean War in the 1850s. The only military hospital available to the British forces fighting on the Crimean Peninsula was at Scutari near the Bosphorus. During the Siege of Sevastopol almost 15,000 wounded troops were transported there from the port at Balaklava by a squadron of converted hospital ships.<ref name="McCallum" />

The first ships to be equipped with genuine medical facilities were the [[Engineering:Steamship|steamship]]s HMS ''Melbourne'' and HMS ''Mauritius'', staffed by the Medical Staff Corps and providing services to the British expedition to China in 1860. The ships provided relatively spacious accommodation for the patients, and were equipped with an operating theatre. Another early hospital ship was {{USS|Red Rover|1859|6}} in the 1860s, which aided the wounded soldiers of both sides during the American Civil War.<ref name="McCallum" />

During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), the British Red Cross supplied a steel-hulled ship, equipped with modern surgery equipment including [[Chemistry:Chloroform|chloroform]] and other anaesthetics, and carbolic acid for antisepsis. Similar vessels accompanied the 1882 British invasion of Egypt and aided American personnel during the 1898 Spanish–American War.<ref name="McCallum" />

During a [[Medicine:Smallpox|smallpox]] outbreak in London in 1883, the Metropolitan Asylum Board (MAB) chartered and later purchased from the Admiralty two ships, {{HMS|Atlas|1860|6}} and {{HMS|Endymion|1865|6}}, and a paddle-steamer, {{PS|Castalia}}, which were moored in the Thames at Long Reach, near Dartford,<ref name="DHS-ShipsIntro">{{cite web |title=Hospital Ships: Introduction |url=http://dartfordhospitalhistories.org.uk/hospital-ships/hospital-ships-introduction/ |website=Dartford Hospital Stories |access-date=5 November 2021}}</ref><ref name="Remote">{{cite web |title=The Long Reach Hospital Ships - Ghosts of the Dartford Marshes |url=https://www.remotelondon.com/long-reach-hospital-ships-dartford-marshes/ |website=Remote London |date=28 November 2019 |access-date=5 November 2021}}</ref> and remained in service until 1903.<ref name="DHS-ShipsIntro"/><ref name="HUK">{{cite web |title=Smallpox Hospital Ships in London |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Smallpox-Hospital-Ships/ |website=Historic UK |access-date=5 November 2021}}</ref>

Hospital ships were used by both sides in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905.The sighting by the Japanese of the Russian hospital ship ''Orel'', illuminated in accordance with [[Social:Law of war|regulations]] for hospital ships, led to the decisive naval Battle of Tsushima. ''Orel'' was retained as a prize of war by the Japanese after the battle.

===World Wars===
[[Image:HMHS Mauretania.jpg|thumb|right|[[Engineering:RMS Mauretania (1906)|RMS ''Mauretania'']] as hospital ship HMHS ''Mauretania'' during World War I.]]
During World War I and World War II, hospital ships were first used on a massive scale. Many [[Engineering:Ocean liner|passenger liners]] were converted for use as hospital ships. {{RMS|Aquitania}} and {{HMHS|Britannic}} were two famous examples of ships serving in this capacity. By the end of the First World War, the British Royal Navy had 77 such ships in service. During the Gallipoli Campaign, hospital ships were used to evacuate over 100,000 wounded personnel to [[Place:Egypt|Egypt]].

{{wipe|Canada}} operated hospital ships in both world wars. In World War I these included SS ''Letitia'' (I) and {{HMHS|Llandovery Castle}} which was deliberately sunk by a German [[Engineering:U-boat|U-boat]] with great loss of life, despite the hospital ship's clearly marked status. In World War II, Canada operated the hospital ship {{RMS|Lady Nelson}} and SS ''Letitia (II)''.<ref>Douglas N. W. Smith, "Bringing Home the Wounded", ''Canadian Rail Passenger Yearbook 1996–1997 Edition'', Trackside Canada, Ottawa, p. 49-64.</ref>
[[File:HMHS Aquitania.jpg|thumb|250px|left|HMHS ''Aquitania'' in World War I service as a hospital ship.]]

The first purpose-built hospital ship in the U.S. Navy was {{USS|Relief|AH-1|6}}<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ICoDAAAAMBAJ&dq=true&pg=-PA35 "Modern Hospital Sails With U.S. Fleet."] ''Popular Science Monthly'', August 1927, p. 35.</ref> which was commissioned in 1921. During World War II both the United States Navy and Army operated hospital ships though with different purposes.<ref name=MSWAJ>{{cite book |last1=Condon-Rall |first1=Mary Ellen |last2=Cowdrey |first2=Albert E. |year=1998 |title=The Technical Services—The Medical Department: Medical Service In The War Against Japan |series=United States Army In World War II |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Center Of Military History, United States Army |lccn=97022644 |pages=258, 388–389}}</ref> Naval hospital ships were fully equipped hospitals designed to receive casualties direct from the battlefield and also supplied to provide logistical support to front line medical teams ashore.<ref name=MSWAJ /> Army hospital ships were essentially hospital transports intended and equipped to evacuate patients from forward area Army hospitals to rear area hospitals or from those to the United States and were not equipped or staffed to handle large numbers of direct battle casualties.<ref name=MSWAJ /> Three of the Navy hospital ships, {{USS|Comfort|AH-6|6}}, {{USS|Hope|AH-7|6}}, and {{USS|Mercy|AH-8|6}}, were less elaborately equipped than other Navy hospital ships, medically staffed by Army medical personnel and similar in purpose to the Army model.<ref name=MSWAJ />

[[File:HMHS Britannic.jpg|thumbnail|right|{{HMHS|Britannic||2}} (youngest sister of {{RMS|Titanic||2}} and {{RMS|Olympic||2}}) after conversion to a hospital ship during World War I.]]
The last British royal yacht, the post World War II {{ship|HMY|Britannia}}, was constructed in a way as to be convertible to a hospital ship in wartime. After her decommissioning, Peter Hennessy discovered that her actual role would have been as Queen Elizabeth II's refuge from nuclear weapons, hiding amidst the [[Earth:Loch|loch]]s of western Scotland.<ref>{{cite news|last = Johnson|first = Simon|date = 2010-07-12|title = 'Floating bunker' plan to help Queen escape nuclear attack|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/7883972/Floating-bunker-plan-to-help-Queen-escape-nuclear-attack.html|work = Daily Telegraph|location = London|access-date = 2017-08-23}}</ref>

A development of the [[Engineering:Lun-class ekranoplan|Lun-class ekranoplan]] was planned for use as a mobile field hospital for rapid deployment to any ocean or coastal location at a speed of 297&nbsp;knots (550&nbsp;km/h, 341.8&nbsp;mph). Work was 90% complete on this model, ''Spasatel'', but Soviet military funding ceased and it was never completed.

Some hospital ships, such as {{SS|Hope}} and ''Esperanza del Mar'', belong to civilian agencies, and do not belong to a navy. Mercy Ships is an international [[Social:Non-governmental organization|non-governmental charity]] (or NGO).

==International law==
[[File:Bateau de Merciships à Conakry.jpg|thumb|right|Non-government hospital ship {{MV|Africa Mercy}}]]
Hospital ships were covered under the Hague Convention X of 1907.<ref name="hague10">{{cite web |date= October 18, 1907|url = http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hague10.asp|title = Convention for the adaptation to maritime war of the principles of the Geneva Convention|publisher = [[Organization:Yale University|Yale University]]| access-date = August 2, 2009 }}</ref> Articles of the Hague Convention X specified the provisions for a hospital ship:
* Hospital-ships must be painted white. Military hospital ships must have a green band; ships operated by approved relief societies and similar must have a red band.
* Ships must fly a red cross flag in addition to their national flag.
* The ship should give medical assistance to wounded personnel of all nationalities.
* The ship must not be used for any military purpose, or interfere with or hamper enemy combatant vessels.
* Belligerents, as designated by the Hague Convention, can search any hospital ship to investigate violations of the above restrictions.
* Belligerents will establish the location of a hospital ship.

According to the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, a hospital ship violating legal restrictions must be duly warned and given a reasonable time limit to comply. If a hospital ship persists in violating restrictions, a belligerent is legally entitled to capture it or take other means to enforce compliance. A non-complying hospital ship may only be fired on under the following conditions:
* Diversion or capture is not feasible
* No other method to exercise control is available
* The violations are grave enough to allow the ship to be classified as a military objective
* The damage and casualties will not be disproportionate to the military advantage.

In all other circumstances, attacking a hospital ship is a [[Social:War crime|war crime]].

Modern hospital ships display large Red Crosses or Red Crescents to signify their Geneva Convention protection under the laws of war. Even so, marked vessels have not been completely free from attack. Notable examples of hospital ships deliberately attacked during wartime are {{HMHS|Llandovery Castle}} in 1915, the {{ship|Soviet hospital ship|Armenia}} in 1941, and {{ship|AHS|Centaur}} in 1943.

== Current hospital ships ==
While any ship can be designated and marked as a hospital ship, many ships are permanently dedicated to that function.

=== Current military hospital ships ===
{| class="wikitable" style="align-center"
|+
!colspan="6"|Military hospital ships
|-
! Navy
! Ship<br>(class)
! Year
! Capacity
! Capabilities
!Image
|-
|rowspan="6"|Brazil<br>{{flagicon|BRA}}
|
|
|
|[[File:NA Pará (U-15) 1.jpg|frameless]]
|-
|U16 ''Doutor Montenegro''{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}
|
|
|
|[[File:Brazilian hospital ship NAsH Doutor Montenegro (U16) moored in Vila das Pedras, Brazil, on 6 August 2019 (190806-N-DO465-1013).JPG|frameless]]
|-
|U18 ''Oswaldo Cruz''<br>(''Oswaldo Cruz''){{citation needed|date=February 2021}}
|1984
|
|
|[[File:NAsH Oswaldo Cruz (U-18).jpg|frameless]]
|-
|U19 ''Carlos Chagas''<br>(''Oswaldo Cruz''){{citation needed|date=February 2021}}
|
|
|
|[[File:ASSHOP CChagas (cropped).jpg|frameless]]
|-
|U21 ''Soares de Meirelles''{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}
|2009
|
|
|[[File:NAsH Soares de Meirelles - U 21.jpg|frameless]]
|-
|U28 ''Tenente Maximiano''{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}
|2010
|
|
|[[File:NAsH Tenente Maximiano (U-28)2.jpg|frameless]]
|-
|rowspan="5"|China<br>{{flagicon|PRC}}
|''Nankang'' (833)<br>(''Qiongsha''){{citation needed|date=February 2021}}
|
|
|Classed as an "ambulance transport"
|
|-
|{{ship|Chinese medical evacuation ship|Zhuanghe||2}} (865) 
|2004
|
|Classed as a "medical evacuation ship", converted container ship with 14 "medical modules"
|
|-
|{{ship|Chinese hospital ship|Daishan Dao||2}} (866)<br>(Type 920)
|2008
|300 hospital beds, 20 intensive care beds
|8 operating theatres, X-ray, ultrasound, CT, hypothermia, hemodialysis, traditional Chinese medicine, and dental facilities
|[[File:People's Liberation Army (Navy) ship PLA(N) Peace Ark (T-AH 866) steams in close formation during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2014.jpg|frameless]]
|-
|''Nanyi'' (12)<br>(''Anshen''){{citation needed|date=February 2021}}
|2020
|
|Classed as a "medium sized hospital ship"
|
|-
|tba (13)<br>(''Anshen''){{citation needed|date=February 2021}}
|2020
|
|Classed as a "medium sized hospital ship"
|
|-
| rowspan="4" |Indonesia<br>{{flagicon|INA}}
|KRI ''dr. Soeharso'' (990)<br>(''Tanjung Dalpele'')
|2003
|Former (LPD), capable of receiving up to 2000 patients 
|5 operating rooms, 6 polyclinics, 51 medical specialists 
|[[File:015BANGGA.jpg|frameless]]
|-
|KRI ''Semarang'' (594)<br>(''Makassar'')
|2018
|
|
|[[File:KRI Semarang (594) docked on Tanjung Priok.jpg|frameless]]
|-
|KRI ''dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo'' (991)
|2021<ref>{{Cite web|title=..:: TNI ANGKATAN LAUT ::..|url=https://www.tnial.mil.id/berita/17761/KRI-dr.-WAHIDIN-SUDIROHUSODO-991-PERKUAT-ALUTSISTA-TNI-AL/|access-date=2021-07-17|website=www.tnial.mil.id}}</ref>
|
|
|[[File:KRI dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo.jpg|frameless]]
|-
|KRI ''dr. Radjiman Wedyodiningrat'' (992)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2023/january/12730-sudirohusodo-class-hospital-ship-kri-dr-radjiman-wedyodiningrat-joins-indonesia-navy.html|title=Sudirohusodo-class hospital ship KRI dr. Radjiman Wedyodiningrat joins Indonesia Navy|website=navyrecognition.com|date=20 January 2023|access-date=21 November 2023}}</ref>
|2023
|124 Beds, additional 350 Beds in Emergency Case
|2 ERs, 5 ORs (+ Pre/ Post), ICU, HCU, X-ray & CT-scan, Pharmacy, 8 Polyclinics, and Laboratory.
| 
|-
|rowspan="2"|Myanmar<br>{{flagicon|MYA}}
|UMS ''Shwe Pu Zun''
|2012 
|25
|1 CT scanner, 1 minor eye operation room, 1 minor operation theater, 1 major operation theater, and 1 intensive care unit<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2015-12-30|title=Asian Defence News: Myanmar Commissions Frigate, Hospital Ship|url=https://asian-defence-news.blogspot.com/2015/12/myanmar-commissions-frigate-hospital.html|access-date=2020-09-17|website=Asian Defence News}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2015-12-24|title=Eight Naval Ships launched, Myanmar Navy aims to become Blue Water Navy|url=https://www.gnlm.com.mm/eight-naval-ships-launched-myanmar-navy-aims-to-become-blue-water-navy/|access-date=2020-09-17|website=Global New Light Of Myanmar|language=en-US}}</ref>
|
|-
|UMS ''Thanlwin''
|2015
|25
|1 CT scanner, 1 minor eye operation room, 1 minor operation theater, 1 major operation theater, and 1 intensive care unit<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
|
|-
|Peru<br>{{flagicon|PER}}
|{{ship|BAP|Puno|ABH-306|6}}
|1976
|
|Converted 1861 steamship, found on [[Earth:Lake Titicaca|Lake Titicaca]]
|[[File:Puno (ex-Yapari) (5690588618).jpg|frameless]]
|-
|rowspan="3"|Russia<br>{{flagicon|RUS}}
|''Yenisey''<br>(''Ob'')
|1981
|100
|7 operating rooms
|[[File:2012-09-14 Севастополь. Плавучий госпиталь "Енисей" (3).jpg|frameless]]
|-
|''Svir''<br>(''Ob'')
|1989
|100
|7 operating rooms
|
|-
|''Irtysh''<br>(''Ob'')
|1990
|100
|7 operating rooms
|[[File:Hospital ship "Irtysh" in 1994.jpeg|frameless]]
|-
|rowspan="2"|United States<br>{{flagicon|USA}}
|{{USNS|Mercy|T-AH-19|6}}<br>(''Mercy'')
|1986
|1,000
|12 operating rooms, digital radiological services, a medical laboratory, a pharmacy, an optometry lab, an intensive care ward, dental services, a [[Astronomy:X-ray computed tomography|CT scanner]], a [[Medicine:Morgue|morgue]], 2 oxygen-producing plants
|[[File:USNS Mercy off Dili.jpg|frameless]]
|-
|{{USNS|Comfort|T-AH-20|6}}<br>(''Mercy'')
|1987
|1,000
|12 operating rooms, digital radiological services, a medical laboratory, a pharmacy, an optometry lab, an intensive care ward, dental services, a [[Astronomy:X-ray computed tomography|CT scanner]], a [[Medicine:Morgue|morgue]], 2 oxygen-producing plants
|[[File:USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) is anchored off the coast of La Brea, Trinidad and Tobago. (48677005558).jpg|frameless]]
|-
|Vietnam<br>{{flagicon|VIE}}
|''Khánh Hòa - 01''<br>(Hospital Ship 561)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vietnam’s naval ship participates in MNEK 2018 |url=https://en.qdnd.vn/military/news/vietnam-s-naval-ship-participates-in-mnek-2018-492368 |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=People's Army Newspaper |language=en}}</ref>
|2013
|200
|Operating room with sattleline connected, intensive care, pressure isolation room, medical laboratory, treatment room, defibrillator room, dental service, Endoscopic room, pharmacy. radiology. 
| 
|-
|}

=== Current non-military hospital ships ===
{| class="wikitable" style="align-center"
|+Non-military hospital ships
|-
! Agency/[[Social:Non-governmental organization|NGO]] || Ship<br>(class) || Year || Capacity || Capabilities || Image
|-
|-
| rowspan="2" | Mercy Ships<br>[[Image:Mercy Ships Logo.jpg|link=Mercy Ships|35px]]
| {{MV|Africa Mercy}}
| Converted 2007
| 82
| 5 [[Medicine:Operating theater|operating theater]]s, 1 intensive care unit, 1 ophthalmic unit, a [[Astronomy:X-ray computed tomography|CT scanner]], [[Physics:X-ray|x-ray]], laboratories<ref>"Hope Floats," interview with Johannes Bernbeck, ''Ability,'' accessed 12 September 2011, pp. 26–29.</ref>
|[[File:AFRICA MERCY - geograph.org.uk - 833266.jpg|frameless|200px]]
|-
|MV Global Mercy
|2022
|199
|6 operating theatres, 102 acute care beds, 7 ICU beds, and 90 self-care beds. The hospital also features dedicated classroom spaces and simulator labs with state-of-the-art technology for enhanced training of local medical professionals.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-20 |title=Ship of the Month: Mercy Ships and the Quest to Build Global Mercy |url=https://www.marinelink.com/news/ship-month-mercy-ships-quest-build-global-490740 |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=MarineLink |language=en}}</ref>
|[[File:Mercy Ships skyline Rotterdam.jpg|left|thumb]]
|-
| rowspan="2"|Ministry of Labour (Spain)<br>{{flagicon|SPA}}
| ''Esperanza del Mar''
| 2001
|17
|1 operating theatre, ICU facility
|[[File:Hospital ship-Esperanza del Mar.jpg|frameless|200px]]
|-
| ''{{ill|Juan de la Cosa (ship)|lt=Juan de la Cosa|WD=Q1710700}}''
| 2006
|10
|1 operating theatre, ICU facility
| [[File:Buque Hospital Juan de la Cosa desde Muelle.jpg|frameless|200px]]
|}

==Other shipborne hospitals==
It is common for naval ships, especially large ships such as [[Engineering:Aircraft carrier|aircraft carrier]]s and amphibious assault ships to have on-board hospitals. However, they are only one small part of the vessel's overall capability, and are used primarily for the ship's crew and its amphibious forces (and occasionally for relief missions). A warship with hospital facilities does not have the protected status of a hospital ship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/hospital-ships.htm|title=World Wide Hospital Ships|author=John Pike|work=globalsecurity.org|access-date=4 May 2015}}</ref>
A primary example of the varied military-based hospital services available at sea is found aboard several types of US naval ships;
[[File:USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) underway in the South China Sea on 8 May 2006 (060508-N-4166B-030).jpg|thumb|220px|USS ''Abraham Lincoln'', a ''Nimitz''-class aircraft carrier]]
;{{flagicon|USA}} United States Navy;
* {{sclass|Gerald R. Ford|aircraft carrier|1}} – USS ''Gerald R. Ford'', first in the class, has an on-board hospital that includes a full lab, pharmacy, operating room, 3-bed intensive care unit, 2-bed emergency room, and 41-bed hospital ward, staffed by 11 medical officers and 30 hospital corpsmen.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ussgeraldrford.wordpress.com/2016/08/08/meet-the-gerald-r-ford-senior-medical-officer/|title=Meet ''Gerald R. Ford''{{'}}s Senior Medical Officer|publisher=ussgeraldrford.wordpress.com|date= 8 August 2016|access-date= 5 January 2018}}</ref>
* {{sclass|Nimitz|aircraft carrier|1}} – Each carrier has a 53-bed hospital ward, a three-bed [[Medicine:Intensive care unit|ICU]], and acts as the hospital ship for the entire carrier strike group.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/weta/carrier/the_ship.htm|title=CARRIER . The Ship – PBS|work=pbs.org|access-date=4 May 2015}}</ref> In one year, the medical department of {{USS|George Washington|CVN-73|6}} handled over 15,000 out-patient visits, drew almost 27,000 labs, filled almost 10,000 prescriptions, took about 2,300 x-rays and performed 65 surgical operations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Harwood|first1=Jared L.|last2=Pothula|first2=Viswanadham|date=April 2011|title=The USS George Washington medical department: Medicine in motion|url=http://www.facs.org/fellows_info/bulletin/2011/harwood0411.pdf|journal=Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons|volume=96|issue=4|pages=20–7|pmid=22315888|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519103740/http://facs.org/fellows_info/bulletin/2011/harwood0411.pdf|archive-date=19 May 2011}}</ref> There is not much variation among the ships of the class. The first ship, {{USS|Nimitz}} has 53 beds, plus 3 ICU beds, and the last ship, {{USS|George H.W. Bush}} has 51 beds, plus 3 ICU beds.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.public.navy.mil/airfor/cvn77/Pages/Departments.aspx|title=Departments|work=navy.mil|access-date=4 May 2015|archive-date=23 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423070220/http://www.public.navy.mil/airfor/cvn77/Pages/Departments.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:USS Bataan (LHD-5);10080504.jpg|thumb|150px|USS ''Bataan'', a ''Wasp''-class amphibious assault ship]]
* {{sclass|Wasp|amphibious assault ship|1}} (LHD) – These ships have 6 operating rooms, 14 ICU beds, 46 hospital beds, 4 battle dressing stations, [[Medicine:Medical imaging|medical imaging]] (i.e.:X-ray), a fully functional laboratory, and a blood bank.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.public.navy.mil/surflant/lhd1/Pages/Departments.aspx|title=USS WASP|work=navy.mil|access-date=4 May 2015|archive-date=20 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150420224725/http://www.public.navy.mil/surflant/lhd1/Pages/Departments.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> The ship can expand its medical complement to 600 beds, making it the second largest hospital at sea, second only to actual hospital ships.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/lhd-1.htm|title=LHD-1 Wasp class|author=John Pike|work=globalsecurity.org|access-date=4 May 2015}}</ref>
* {{sclass|America|amphibious assault ship|0}} amphibious assault ship (LHA) – This is the newest and largest class both in the USN and the world. However, the first two ships of the class, {{USS|America|LHA-6|6}} and {{USS|Tripoli|LHA-7|6}}, had the size of their medical facilities reduced, in favour of larger aviation facilities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dote.osd.mil/pub/reports/FY2008/pdf/navy/2008lha6.pdf |title=LHA 6 (formerly LHA(R)) : New Amphibious Assault Ship |website=Dote.osd.mil |access-date=2016-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030254/http://www.dote.osd.mil/pub/reports/FY2008/pdf/navy/2008lha6.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The on-board hospitals of these first two vessels will have 2 operating rooms and 24 beds.<ref name="imef.marines.mil">{{cite web|url=http://www.imef.marines.mil/Portals/68/Docs/IMEF/PAO/ARG-MEU%20Overview%20Pamphlet.pdf |title=Amphibious Ready Group and Marine expeditionary Unit Overview |website=Imef.marines.mil |access-date=2016-03-09}}</ref> It is unknown if this design change will affect the expanded capability for additional beds, nor what size the medical facilities of future ships of the class will be.
* {{sclass|San Antonio|amphibious transport dock}} (LPD) – 24 hospital beds.<ref name="imef.marines.mil"/>
* {{sclass|Harpers Ferry|dock landing ship}} (LSD) – 11 hospital beds.<ref name="imef.marines.mil"/>
* {{sclass|Whidbey Island|dock landing ship|2}} (LSD) – 8 hospital beds.<ref name="imef.marines.mil"/>

More examples from various other national navies include;
;{{flagicon|Argentina}} Argentine Navy
* {{ship|ARA|Almirante Irízar|Q-5|6}} – [[Engineering:Icebreaker|Icebreaker]] which can be deployed as a hospital ship.

;{{flagicon|Australia}} Royal Australian Navy
* {{sclass|Canberra|landing helicopter dock|1}} – This class is based on the ''Juan Carlos I''-class design,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laopinioncoruna.es/coruna/2012/08/04/navantia-efectua-exito-encaje-canberra/633833.html|title=Navantia efectúa con éxito el ´encaje´ del ´Canberra´|author=La Opinión de A Coruña|work=laopinioncoruna.es|date=4 August 2012 |access-date=4 May 2015}}</ref> and has 2 operating rooms and a hospital ward.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/australia/hmas-canberra-3.htm|title=Canberra Class Amphibious Ship|author=John Pike|work=globalsecurity.org|access-date=4 May 2015}}</ref>

;{{flagicon|China}} People's Liberation Army Navy
* Several armed {{sclass2|Qiongsha|cargo ship|1}}s are fitted out as "ambulance transports".
* ''Shichang'' – a multi-role training ship built in 1997. Deck space can accommodate modular medical units and can be used as a medical treatment facility, but the primary role is aviation training. The layout is very similar to RFA ''Argus'' (see below).

[[File:BPC Dixmude.jpg|thumb|150px|''Dixmude'', a ''Mistral''-class amphibious assault ship]]
;{{flagicon|France}} French Navy
* {{sclass|Mistral|amphibious assault ship|2}} – On board hospital is NATO Echelon level-3,<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=http://www.nato.int/docu/logi-en/1997/lo-1610.htm|title=NATO Logistics Handbook: Chapter 16: Medical Support|work=nato.int|access-date=4 May 2015}}</ref> with 69 hospital beds, 7 ICU beds, and an additional 50 beds if needed. The ship also has [[Medicine:Medical imaging|medical imaging]] capabilities, such as X-ray, CT-scan and ultrasound.

;{{flagicon|Italy}} Italian Navy
* {{ship|Italian aircraft carrier|Cavour|550|2}} aircraft carrier – Has an on-board hospital with 2 operating rooms, 1 intensive care unit, laboratory, pharmacy and a 32-bed hospital ward.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marina.difesa.it/uominimezzi/navi/Pagine/Cavour.aspx|title=Marina Militare » Uomini e mezzi » Cavour|work=marina.difesa.it|access-date=10 April 2018}}</ref>
* {{ship|Italian ship|Etna|A5326|2}} logistic ship – On-board hospital is NATO ROLE-level 2+, with operating room, intensive care unit and a laboratory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marina.difesa.it/uominimezzi/navi/Pagine/Etna.aspx|title=Marina Militare » Uomini e mezzi » Etna|work=marina.difesa.it|access-date=10 April 2018}}</ref>

;{{flagicon|Japan}} Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
* {{sclass|Izumo|helicopter destroyer|1}} – These ships have 2 operating rooms, 2 ICU beds, 35 hospital beds, 1 battle dressing station and several [[Medicine:Medical imaging|medical imaging]] (i.e.:X-ray) stations.
* {{sclass|Hyūga|helicopter destroyer|2}} – These ships have 1 operating room, 1 ICU bed, 8 hospital beds.
* {{sclass|Ōsumi|tank landing ship|3}} - These ships have 1 operating room, 2 ICU beds, 6 hospital beds.

;{{flagicon|Spain}} Spanish Navy
* {{ship|Spanish ship|Juan Carlos I|L61|2}} – Has a 40-bed hospital on board.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theaviationist.com/tag/l61-juan-carlos-i/#.UkmGGl9zbs0|title=The Aviationist » L61 Juan Carlos I|work=theaviationist.com|access-date=4 May 2015}}</ref>

;{{flagicon|UK}} Royal Navy
[[File:RFA Argus off the coast of Devonport.jpg|thumb|RFA ''Argus'' (A-135), circa 2007]] 
* Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship {{ship|RFA|Argus|A135|6}} – This ship would be a hospital ship were it not for its armaments. However, it is instead designated as a 'Primary Casualty Receiving Ship' (PCRS). The vessel is classed as a NATO ROLE 3 Medical support vessel and  is to be replaced in 2024<ref name=":2" />
* Royal Fleet Auxiliary Bay Class ships have a 14-bed medical facility which has the capability of being expanded in times of crisis as well as an operating theatre. The vessels are a classed as NATO Role 2 Medical support capable vessels.<ref name=":2" />
{{flagicon|Germany}} '''German Navy'''
* Berlin-class replenishment ship Berlin - Equipped with a container based version of the large modular hospital MERZ which stands for ''Marineeinsatzrettungzentrum'' (Englisch: Maritime Rescue Center) capable of holding 45 patients, plus 4 intensive care beds, clinical and microbiological laboratory and sterilisers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Berlin Class Fleet Auxiliary Vessels |url=https://www.naval-technology.com/projects/berlin-class-fleet-auxiliary-vessels/ |access-date=2023-11-02 |website=Naval Technology |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Berlin-class replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main - Following a fire destroying the Frankfurt's MERZ, the Navy opted to equip the Frankfurt am Main with a new generation integrated MERZ (iMERZ), build into the hull of the ship. It's equipped with two operating rooms, medical imaging capabilities and a hospital ward. The German Navy plans to equip the Frankfurt's two sister ships with an iMERZ during routine maintenance.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-25 |title=Die „Frankfurt am Main“ jetzt mit neuem Rettungszentrum - bundeswehr-journal |url=https://www.bundeswehr-journal.de/2022/die-frankfurt-am-main-jetzt-mit-neuem-rettungszentrum/ |access-date=2023-11-02 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
;Lists:
* List of hospital ships sunk in World War I
* List of hospital ships sunk in World War II
* {{slink|List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy#Hospital Ships (AH)}}
* List of hospital ships of the Australian Navy
* List of hospital ships of the Brazilian Navy
* List of hospital ships of the Chinese Navy
* List of hospital ships of the Royal Navy
* List of hospital ships of the United States Navy
* List of hospital ships of the United States Army
* List of hospital ships of the United States Sanitary Commission

;Others:
* Mercy Ships
* [[Engineering:Hospital train|Hospital train]]
* Hague Convention on Hospital Ships
* Hospital ships designated for the COVID-19 pandemic	
* Women on Waves

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/r4/relief-vi.htm}}

==External links==
* [http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/centaur/index.htm Australian War Memorial – Sinking of the Centaur] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121234225/http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/centaur/index.htm |date=2008-11-21 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110726132246/http://www.med-dept.com/hosp_ships.php WW2 US Hospital Ships]
* [https://www.scribd.com/doc/33217726/WWII-1944-Army-Hospital-Ships-History US Army Hospital Ships in WWII]
* [http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH1-Effo-t1-body-d7.html New Zealand Hospital Ships (chapter of official history of WWI)]


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[[Category:Ship types]]

{{Sourceattribution|Hospital ship}}