Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark arrives in Tanzania

DAR ES SALAAM - Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark arrived on Sunday morning in Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam, starting an eight-day humanitarian mission of providing free medical services to local residents.

The arrival of the Peace Ark, its second in seven years, was received with joy by Tanzanians.

At the welcome ceremony held at Dar es Salaam port, Task Group Commander of Peace Ark Guan Bailin said the visiting crew will carry out free medical services, humanitarian assistance, and conduct medical training to consolidate and promote friendly relations and deepen professional exchanges between China and Tanzania.

Tanzania Navy Commander Richard Mutayoba Makanzo thanked China for sending the Peace Ark to Tanzania again.

"China has helped Tanzania in different sectors. One of the notable areas is the construction of Tazara railway, which connects Tanzania and Zambia," said Makanzo.

In 2010-2015, the Peace Ark paid visits to Asia, Africa, the Americas and Oceania. A total of 29 countries and regions, and 120,000 people received free on-board medical and humanitarian services.

The current tour has already taken the Peace Ark to Djibouti, Gabon, Sierra Leone, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, and Mozambique.

The Peace Ark is 178 meters long, with a total area of 4,000 square meters. It has eight operation rooms, seven health care offices and 300 beds. A total of 115 health care workers are on board, mostly from the Naval Medical University, of which 60 percent have senior titles.