 USNS Mercy on 27 November 2024 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Namesake | Mercy |
| Builder | National Steel and Shipbuilding Company |
| Laid down | 12 June 1974 (asSan Clemente-classoil tanker SSWorth MA-299) |
| Launched | 1 July 1975 (in San Diego, California) |
| In service | 8 November 1986 (to the US Navy) |
| Homeport | Naval Base San Diego |
| Identification | |
| Motto | "Steaming to Assist"[1] |
| Status | in active service |
| Badge | _Crest.png) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Mercy-classhospital ship |
| Displacement | 65,552 tons[2] |
| Length | 894 ft (272 m)[2] |
| Beam | 106 ft (32 m)[2] |
| Propulsion | two boilers, twoGE turbines, one shaft, 24,500 hp (18.3 MW) |
| Speed | 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph)[2] |
| Capacity | 1000 patient beds |
| Complement |
|
| Time to activate | 5 days |
USNSMercy (T-AH-19) is thelead ship ofher class ofhospital ships in non-commissioned service with theUnited States Navy. Her sister ship isUSNS Comfort (T-AH-20). She is the third US Navy ship to be named after the virtuemercy. In accordance with theGeneva Conventions,Mercy and her crew do not carry any offensive weapons, though defensive weapons are available.
United States Naval Ship (USNS)Mercy was built as aSan Clemente-classoil tanker,SSWorth, byNational Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego, California, in 1976. Starting in July 1984, she was renamed and converted to a hospital ship by the same company.Launched on 20 July 1985,Mercy was placed in service on 8 November 1986. She has a raised forecastle, a transom stern, a bulbous bow, an extended deckhouse with a forward bridge, and a helicopter-landing deck with a flight-control facility.
The conversions from oil tankers cost $208 million per ship and took 35 months to complete.[3] TheMercy-class hospital ships are the third largest ships in the US Navy Fleet by length, surpassed only by the nuclear-poweredNimitz- andGerald R. Ford-classsupercarriers.[4]
Her primary mission is to provide medical and surgical services to support Marine Corps Air/Ground Task Forces deployed ashore, Army and Air Force units deployed ashore, and naval amphibious task forces and battle forces afloat. Secondarily, she provides mobile surgical hospital service for use by appropriate US Government agencies in disaster and humanitarian relief, and limited humanitarian care incident to these missions and to peacetime military operations.[5]
_aboard_the_Military_Sealift_Command_(MSC)_hospital_ship_USNS_Mercy_(T-AH_19)%2c_perform_a_cleft_lip_surgery.jpg)
Mercy, homeported in San Diego, is normally in reduced operating status. Her crew remains a part of the staff ofNaval Medical Center San Diego until ordered to sea, at which time they have five days to fully activate the ship to a NATO Role III Medical Treatment Facility. The only higher level being onshore fixed facilities outside the theater of operations.[5][6] Like most USNS ships, mariners from the US Navy'sMilitary Sealift Command are responsible for navigation, propulsion, and most deck duties on board.[2]Mercy is as of 2012 part of MSC's Service Support Program. The "Medical Treatment Facility", or hospital on the ship, is commanded by a captain of theNavy Medical Corps orNavy Nurse Corps.
On 27 February 1987,Mercy began training while en route on a humanitarian cruise to the Philippines and the South Pacific. The staff includedU.S. Navy,Indian Navy,U.S. Army, andU.S. Air Force active duty and reserve personnel;United States Public Health Service; medical providers from theArmed Forces of the Philippines; andMSC civilian mariners. Over 62,000 outpatients and almost 1,000 inpatients were treated at seven Philippine and South Pacific ports.Mercy returned toOakland, California, on 13 July 1987.
On 9 August 1990,Mercy was activated in support ofOperation Desert Shield. Departing on 15 August, she arrived in thePersian Gulf on 15 September. For the next six months,Mercy provided support to multinational allied forces. She admitted 690 patients and performed almost 300 surgeries. After treating the 21 American and two Italian repatriatedprisoners of war, she departed for home on 16 March 1991, arriving in Oakland on 23 April.
_underway_replenishment_with_USNS_Tippecanoe_(T-AO-199)_during_Operation_Unified_Assistance_2005.jpg)
Mercy departed San Diego on 5 January 2005 en route to thetsunami-devastated regions ofSoutheast Asia, where she provided medical care to the victims of the disaster as part ofOperation Unified Assistance, and further care as part of Theater Security Cooperation Program 2005. Combined, she provided over 107,000 patient services, rendered by members of theDepartment of Defense,Project HOPE, and theUnited States Public Health Service.[7]
Mercy departed San Diego in 2006 as the inaugural deployment ofPacific Partnership, an ongoing Civic Assistance mission designed to "Prepare in Calm to Respond in Crisis". She visited several ports in the South Pacific Ocean including thePhilippines, Indonesia, andBanda Aceh. The ship's primary mission was to provide humanitarian assistance to these countries, and her staff included several non-governmental organizations, doctors from the armed services of several countries, as well as active-duty and reserve military providers from many branches of theUS Armed Forces.
Mercy departed San Diego on 14 April 2008 for Pacific Partnership 2008, a four-month humanitarian and civicdeployment in Southeast Asia and Oceania.Mercy, with 900 officers and sailors, included 300 US health and construction experts. Partners participating in the mission included the nations of Australia, Canada,Chile, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, andPortugal, as well as several non-governmental organizations.[8] Originally intended to visit thePhilippines, Vietnam, theFederated States of Micronesia,East Timor, andPapua New Guinea,Mercy was to be redirected to theBay of Bengal to provide immediate assistance to victims of the cyclone inBurma, but relief efforts in Burma were called off. On 10 June, the humanitarian mission was temporarily suspended after one of the ship's helicopters was shot at in the strife-torn southern Philippines area ofMindanao. Over the course of the deployment,Mercy would treat 91,000 patients, including performing 1,369 surgeries.
_and_USNS_Mercy_(T-AH-19)_in_the_South_China_Sea%2c_-14_Jun._2010_a.jpg)
On 24 February 2010, the Commander of the US Pacific Fleet announced thatMercy will be the lead vessel of Pacific Partnership 2010, a continuation of the recurring humanitarian mission to Southeast Asia and Oceania.[9] For Pacific Partnership 2010Mercy visitedVietnam,Cambodia,Indonesia, andEast Timor; treated 109,754 patients, and performed 1,580 surgeries.
3 May 2012 sawMercy depart San Diego once again for Pacific Partnership 2012,[10] the latest deployment of the Pacific Partnership series. In an effort to further expand the scope of the mission of "Preparing in Calm to Respond in Crisis", many more man hours of Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) with host nations, Veterinary Care, and construction projects were performed compared to pastMercy deployments, building the capacity of host nations to respond to regional disasters in a coordinated manner. The ship visitedIndonesia, thePhilippines,Vietnam, andCambodia carrying personnel not only from the Department of Defense, but also 13 partner nations and 28 non-governmental organizations.[11]
The National Conflict Resolution Center honored the master and crew of hospital ship USNSMercy with its 25th annual Peacemaker Award for her participation in Pacific Partnership (2012).[12]
In mid-November 2013,Mercy was ordered to activate forOperation Damayan, the relief effort in response to the devastation caused byTyphoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines on 7 November 2013. However,Mercy was deactivated before sailing.[13][14]
The US Navy announced thatMercy would be participating in RIMPAC 2014, a large multi-national naval exercise involving ships and personnel from 23 countries. In addition to providing medical and surgical care to personnel injured during the exercise,Mercy participated in multi-lateral Subject Matter Expert Exchanges with other military medical professionals. In addition,Mercy steamed withPeace Ark, the hospital ship from the People's Republic of China during phases of the exercise.[15]
Ten years after the relief effort for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami, US Pacific Fleet announced thatMercy would once again participate in Pacific Partnership. Focusing on Subject Matter Expert Exchanges and Community Health Engagements, Pacific Partnership 15 looks to continue the mission of helping nations in the region "Prepare in Calm to Respond in Crisis". Countries hostingMercy includeFiji,Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam.[16]
Celebrating 10 years of Pacific Partnership, US Pacific Fleet announced thatMercy would continue to participate in the ongoing series of Disaster Preparedness missions. Focusing on local Subject Matter Expert Exchanges, Pacific Partnership 16 continues to "Prepare in Calm to Respond in Crisis". Countries that have invitedMercy include East Timor,Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.[17]
US Pacific Fleet announced thatMercy would set sail toSri Lanka for Pacific Partnership 2018.[18]
TheUnited Seamen's Service at its annual Admiral of the Ocean Sea Awards (AOTOS) event honored the masters and crews of hospital ship USNSMercy with Special Recognition Mariner's Plaque for her participation in Pacific Partnership (2018).[19]
From March until May 2020,Mercy was deployed toLos Angeles to provide hospital relief in response toCOVID-19.[20][21] The ship arrived and docked at thePort of Los Angeles cruise ship terminal on 27 March 2020,[22] and departed on May 16.[21] The ship's mission was to treat patients other than those with COVID-19, freeing up land-based hospitals to deal with the virus.[23] The deployment mirrorsUSNS Comfort's simultaneous mission to supportNew York's COVID-19 response.[24] As of 15 April,Mercy had treated 48 patients, of whom 30 had been discharged.[25][needs update] Seven crew members have tested positive for the virus and been removed from the ship for quarantine; 100 other sailors who had contact with them were also removed for quarantine.[26][25] She arrived back inSan Diego on 15 May.[21] This was followed by a seven-month maintenance period during which a flight deck was created between theforecastle and theaftercastle, for two large helicopters, theV-22 Osprey andMH-60 Seahawk. Mercy can also refuel aircraft.[27]
On 31 March 2020, whileMercy was docked, aPacific Harbor Line freight train was deliberatelyderailed by its onboardengineer in an attempt to crash into the ship, but the attack was unsuccessful.[28][29] According toU.S. federal prosecutors, the train's engineer "was suspicious of theMercy, believing it had an alternate purpose related to COVID-19 or a government takeover".[30] The train came to a stop approximately 750 feet (230 m) from the ship after destroying several barriers and suffered a substantialfuel oil leak requiring cleanup from fire fighters and hazardous materials personnel.[30] No one was injured and the ship was not harmed; the engineer was charged with train wrecking andterrorism.[31][32] The engineer later citedQanon andCOVID-19 conspiracy theories as the reasons for his attack.[33]
 | ||
  |  | .svg) |
 |  | .svg) |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
.svg)
