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concept we had developed years ago with
Deltamarin. Where there was cargo space, we
put hospital areas. It was quite a lot of space
for a hospital, and the design developed even
further, and the ship grew bigger and bigger.
It turned out to be a really good design and
a really large hospital ship. It became the
biggest civilian hospital ship in the world. We
started the design work back in 2012, and the
ship will be delivered in 2021.”
Former Director of Deltamarin’s marine
business, Jarmo Valtonen, commented
on the unique project in Deltamarin’s press
release: “When developing the new vessel
concept together with Stena and Mercy Ships,
we learnt a lot about the goals and visions of
Mercy Ships, and it gives us great pleasure to
be part of this very special project to help the
underprivileged in developing nations”.
The vessel would be certified as a
passenger ship for long international voyages.
There would be a total of 641 beds in 277
cabins. The vessel would even house a school
for the children of the crew.
When asked why Stena likes to cooperate
with Deltamarin, Westling says, “I think it’s
very easy to work with Deltamarin. I should
say that we have had really good Key Account
Managers at Deltamarin. We have been
working with Jarmo Valtonen for many years.
This has been important for us, because we
have enjoyed continuity by always having
the same person. That’s really good. He
knows our business, how we think and work
and how we communicate.” He also adds,
“Swedish and Finnish people are very similar.
We understand each other and communicate
the same way, so it’s easy compared to many
other nationalities.”
Global Mercy, the
world’s largest civilian
hospital ship built
by Tianjin Xingang
Shipyard in China.
(PHOTO: RIKARD OLSSON /
STENA)