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A mobile hospital at sea

Ship Khanh Hoa 01, coded HQ-561, is a mobile hospital at sea which helps fishermen in Truong Sa (Spratly) island district keep their peace of mind and work on protecting the national sovereignty over seas and islands. 
The hospital ship is responsible for providing healthcare services for military personnel, residents and fishermen on the Truong Sa archipelago.

The ship was launched on April 26, 2012, and put in operation in 2013. With a capacity of 2,070 tons, HQ-561 is able to carry 200 people, operating continuously during 45 days at sea and deal with level-10 waves.


Under the management of the Navy Zone 4, HQ- 561 is evaluated as one of the most advanced medical ships in Southeast Asia. 


 HQ- 561 is the most advanced ship made in Vietnam.


Inside the hold. 


The area of classifying waste on the ship.


Clean space on the ship. 


The ship has 15 hospital beds, three patient rooms and facility storage. 


 The ship is equipped with advanced medical facilities and devices. 


The hospital also has endoscopy machine. 


The operating room is equipped with direct broadcast devices to connect with HCM City’s Military Central Hospital 175.

Regularly checking medical facilities on the ship.

Built by the Z189 Shipbuilding Company of the Ministry of National Defense and based at Khanh Hoa province’s Cam Ranh port, the ship takes military officers, servicemen and passengers to visit and work on the archipelago. It also delivers food and fresh water to the soldiers and people living there.

The ship is equipped with facilities and devices that are just as modern as those in mainland hospitals. There are 15 hospital beds, three patient rooms, facility storage, pharmacy storage and many functional rooms of intensive care and emergencies, operating room, endoscopy room, ultrasound, and X-ray. The operating room and consultation room are equipped with direct broadcast devices to connect with HCM City’s Military Central Hospital 175.  Medical staff on the ship can receive consultations and support from the mainland in sophisticated operations at sea. The mobile hospital is also equipped with facilities to resist vibrations which helps doctors work in case of rough seas.

According to Tran Van Ngoc, a physician on HQ-561, the ship has a decompression chamber which is able to give emergency aid to 8 to 10 people. The chamber is used to receive and cure patients who suffer from diving accidents.

Besides advanced medical facilities, the hospital has well-trained physicians, pharmacists and doctors who can give emergency aid and treatment to soldiers and people on the Truong Sa archipelago as well as the fishermen at sea.




 Giving a patient an ultrasound scan on the ship. 


HQ- 561 always dispenses free medicine to fishermen who suffer accidents at sea. 


Fishermen thank the medical corps on the ship. 

HQ-561 has attended three naval exercises with other ships in the world. The first was the 2014 Komodo multilateral naval exercise themed “ASEAN Co-operation Navy for Stability”. It took place from March 25 to April 16, 2014 with a focus on naval humanitarian aid and disaster relief activities. The large exercise was attended by 48 navy ships and 4,885 troops from 18 countries. Besides ASEAN member countries, the navy forces of Russia, the US, Japan, China, India and Australia also joined the exercise.

By Thong Hai


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