Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark visits Solomon Islands as part of Harmony Mission 2023 (linked to Record ID#s #103999 and #103961)

On July 3, 2023, Peace Ark, a Chinese naval hospital ship, set off from a military dock in Zhoushan to perform the Harmony Mission 2023 program, which involved visiting Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste (Linked records #103999, #104004, #103961, and #103962). On August 15, the ship left Vanuatu for Port Honiara in the Solomon Islands, its fourth stop on the 2023 mission.

It arrived at 10 am on August 19. It departed on August 26 at noon for Port Dili, Timor-Leste, the final stop of the 2023 mission.

During their stay, the medical staff provided medical services on the ship, as well as sending out detachments to provide care and consultation, and conduct academic exchanges elsewhere.

In total, 10,000 patients were treated and 31 operations were performed, including caesarian sections, breast mass excisions, pterygium excisions, and cataract aspirations. Soldiers from the ship also visited local schools and police forces for cultural and sports exchanges. The medical team consisted of 126 members across 16 different clinical and auxiliary departments.

They were drawn from China's Naval Medical University, the Joint Logistic Support Force, and the PLA Navy under the Eastern Theater Command.

Peace Ark typically stays for seven days in each country it visits, conducting medical procedures, cultural exchanges, and occasional military training with local armed forces. Peace Ark is a Type 920 hospital ship commissioned in 2008. It has visited 43 countries and regions since then. At 14,300 tons, it is larger than a typical Chinese destroyer, with a displacement of over 10,000 metric tons.

It has multiple operating rooms and nursing stations with over 300 beds, a blood bank, and the capacity to handle up to 1,000 patients at a time.

It is also equipped with state-of-the-art medical technology, including CT, DR, color Doppler ultrasonography, gastrointestinal endoscopy, automatic biochemical analyzers, multifunctional monitors, ventilators, and autoclave cabinets—comprising 2,600 medical devices across 250 types. It is also equipped with a heliambulance for emergency rescues.