A U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command hospital ship, the USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), will arrive in Da Nang City in central Vietnam next week to offer free medical services and other activities, local authorities said on Monday. The ship will dock at Tien Sa Port on August 17 and will stay there until August 28, said the municipal Department of External Relations. A free of charge medical examination and treatment program intended for local people is one of the top activities of the huge mobile hospital. Surgeries on burn patients, cardiovascular interventions and operations for entire joint replacement will be among the free medical services USNS Mercy doctors will provide to locals. The USNS Mercy hospital ship has 1,000 beds and 12 operating rooms that are equipped with advanced equipment capable of performing general surgeries, orthopedic operations and ribcage, mental, urologic, dental and gynecological and obstetric surgeries. People who wish to be examined and treated by the guest doctors may register their names and other necessary details at the Da Nang Department of External Relations by 5:00 pm on August 14. Tests to be carried out on patients before and after the treatment will be paid for by relevant health insurance agencies. During their stay in Da Nang, the guests will join their hosts from the Vietnam People’s Navy in a number of meetings and seminars on health, orthopedic surgery, health care for soldiers, drills on heath relief at sea and on islands, and others.   The USNS Mercy is one of two hospital ships of the U.S. Navy, and both ships are maintained by the Military Sealift Command and are part of the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force, according the U.S. Navy’s website. The vessel, which was launched on July 20, 1985 and commissioned on November 8, 1986, is 272.6 meters long and 32.3 meters wide, according to the website. It has a full displacement of 69,350 tons and has a helipad suitable for all helicopters, the website said.

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