Indonesian state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL has make progress for another naval hospital ship. The vessel, which will be the third purpose-built hospital ship to be operated by the Indonesian Navy once it is commissioned, was laid down on 21 January at PT PAL’s warship division in Surabaya. First steel for the vessel was cut in September 2020. Besides operating theatres, the ship will have a high-dependency ward, an accident and emergency triage facility, and a polyclinic with radiology, dentistry, and maternity facilities. The Indonesian Navy currently operates one South Korean-built hospital ship, KRI Dr Soeharso (990), and one interim hospital ship, KRI Semarang.
The hospital ship will have an overall length of 124 m, a 22 m beam, and a hull draught of 5 m. It will displace 7,200 tonnes at full load and can accommodate a crew complement of up to 120, including 16 bunks for aviation-specific personnel. The vessel can also be configured to embark up to 89 medical staff, 163 bedridden patients, and 280 seated evacuees in times of emergencies. The ship has also been designed with ‘plug-and play’ electrical infrastructure for containerised mission modules, such as mobile power generators and desalination equipment.The ship will have a maximum speed of 18 kt and a cruising speed of 14 kt.
