A newly acquired hospital ship will be operated along the Amazon River to provide medical services to some of Brazil's remote coastal communities.
Owned by local Catholic charity Associacao e Fraternidade Sao Francisco de Assis na Providencia de Deus, the vessel was purchased from a Brazilian shipyard in early July and is scheduled to begin operating alongside two other hospital ships within the next six months.
The vessel measures 47 metres long and has capacity for up to 850 passengers plus 10 crewmembers and 50 medical staff. It was originally built for a different owner but instead remained unused and laid-up, forcing the shipyard to look for a new buyer.
The vessel, which has been named Saint John XXIII in honour of the late former pope, has completed undergoing fitting out, which included the installation of medical facilities such as patient wards, testing rooms, and even operating rooms.
