On September 8, the Global Mercy passed through the Suez Canal. Now it is anchored off the Belgian coast. Sunday morning it leaves for Antwerp — © rr
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Another record ship for Antwerp. Not a container giant this time, but the largest civilian hospital ship in the world, the Global Mercy. It will be completed in Antwerp in the coming months. On Sunday you can see it sailing as far as the center of Antwerp.
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Mercy Ships is already well known in Antwerp maritime circles. The charitable organization regularly receives donations from our companies. The Antwerp Port Authority also fully supports the project, and has offered that the newest ship, the Global Mercy, can be completed in Antwerp.
The Global Mercy is 174 meters long and has twelve decks. In Antwerp, volunteers will equip it with 200 hospital beds and six operating theatres, ultimately accounting for 7,000 m² of floating hospital. It will be the largest civilian hospital ship in the world. Only armies have bigger hospital ships. The American USNS Comfort, for example, has about 1,000 beds.
Spotting yourself
The new-build vessel has already completed a journey of two months. It is currently anchored about 30 km off the Belgian coast. Tomorrow morning it will have a pilot on board and it will leave around 5.30 am for Antwerp, where it will be visible in the heart of Antwerp around 1.30 pm. So feel free to take a seat on one of the two banks. You can also follow the ship live on tracking websites such as MarineTraffic. Below you will find the link to it.
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5.30 am: departure from the pilot vessel Wandelaar
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8.30 am: Flushing road
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11.45am: Bend of Bath
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12.00: Belgian-Dutch border
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13.30: First passage Bocadero – Rijnkaai
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2 p.m.: swing maneuver at the Kennedytunnel
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2.40 pm: Second passage Bocadero – Rijnkaai
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16.20u: Berendrechtsluis
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6.00 pm: arrival at the Nautical Operational Cluster of the Antwerp Port Authority (quay 602-612)
Four Flandria boats
“There is a lot of enthusiasm and warmth around the arrival”, says Carla Reynders, spokesperson for Mercy Ships. “We have put in four Flandria boats, with which almost 1,000 people will sail towards the Global Mercy. That was sold out in no time. On the boat are families, individual groups and people from the fifty Antwerp companies that help us with the equipment of the ship. It will give some atmosphere.”
It is expected to leave for the Senegalese capital Dakar in six months to provide free medical assistance to the local population. Then it sails on to Liberia.
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