In March 2022, the Global Mercy will set sail for Africa to provide on site medical care to suffering patients. The mooring ropes for the hospital ship were produced and supplied by Drahtseilwerk Bremerhaven.
The Chinese-built Global Mercy is currently anchored in Rotterdam. The world’s largest private hospital ship, operated by the humanitarian organization Mercy Ships, is receiving its interior furnishings and equipment for operating theatres, treatment and patient rooms here, before setting sail for Africa in March. There, the crew will provide surgical support to people in need. Drahtseilwerk Bremerhaven, a company from the Vom Hofe Group, has equipped the Global Mercy with high-quality mooring ropes.
“For us, this was not an order just like any other, but a matter close to our heart,” reports Claas Seedorf, Sales Manager at Drahtseilwerk Bremerhaven. “After all, the Vom Hofe Group, to which Drahtseilwerk Bremerhaven belongs, is also a foundation with a social background.” Global Mercy shows that international shipping is not just about huge container, ferry or cruise ships and profits, Seedorf said: “This is about medical aid for people in need – a charitable cause we’re happy to support, through donations, for example.” He would be pleased to see other maritime companies involved in a commitment to the Mercy Ships humanitarian organisation.
Premium ATLAS® rope
To moor the floating hospital in the harbours, Drahtseilwerk produced and delivered its premium ATLAS® mooring line, in January. The Bremerhaven-based company’s own development is made of high-quality materials and is more resilient and longer-lasting than conventional mooring ropes. “Seafarers around the world have known ATLAS® rope and its outstanding characteristics for many years,” says Seedorf. The Global Mercy’s mooring ropes are synthetic stranded ropes that combine the attributes of wire ropes and fibre ropes. They are dimensionally stable, flexible, require no maintenance and are resistant to corrosion and seawater. They have a diameter of 64 millimetres and are each 220 metres long.
The hospital ship Global Mercy
The Global Mercy is the world’s most modern and largest civilian hospital ship. The humanitarian organization Mercy Ships has planned for it to call mainly on countries along the West African coast between Senegal and Angola. The ship, which is 174 metres long and just under 29 metres wide, has twelve decks with six operating theatres and around 200 beds for patients. The medical spectrum includes oral and maxillofacial surgery , orthopaedics, plastic surgery, eye surgery and gynaecology. The Global Mercy also accommodates about 640 crew members, including their families. For them, there is an on-board auditorium, a school, fitness rooms, a swimming pool, a café, a store and a library.
About the Vom Hofe Group
The companies of the Vom Hofe Group, which include Drahtseilwerk Bremerhaven, produce wires, wire ropes, textile lifting tackle and wire mesh for a wide variety of applications, at five locations in Germany. The spectrum ranges from medical micro-cables to mooring ropes for commercial shipping.
