Exercises Modernization

Navy Hospital Ship 'Silk Road Ark' Successfully Completes 'Healthcare to the Maritime Frontier' Mission

海军“丝路方舟”号医院船圆满完成“健康送海疆”任务

PLA Daily (解放军报) 26 June 2026

Summary

The PLA Navy hospital ship *Silk Road Ark* returned to Zhanjiang on June 26 after a 20-plus-day deployment to remote South China Sea island and reef positions, logging 3,329 patient visits, 793 health examinations, 54 surgeries, and maritime emergency rescue drills across its third 'Healthcare to the Maritime Frontier' rotation since commissioning in 2024. The article documents a persistent medical readiness deficit at remote island garrisons — the mission's explicit focus on training injuries, chronic disease, and common island ailments confirms that forward-positioned troops on outlying reefs lack adequate organic medical capacity. The *Silk Road Ark*'s recurring annual deployments fit a pattern of compensating for that structural gap through periodic shipboard surge support rather than permanent shore-based medical infrastructure.

Translation

Xinhua News Agency, Zhanjiang, June 26 (Liu Yinuo, Tang Lei) — The Navy hospital ship "Silk Road Ark" berthed smoothly at a naval port wharf in Zhanjiang on the 26th, having completed more than 20 days of long-range voyage and medical rounds, fulfilling this year's "Healthcare to the Maritime Frontier" (健康送海疆) special medical support mission.

This medical tour adopted a combined mode of "island-based rounds + shipboard admission + door-to-door medical services," reaching multiple remote island and reef positions, with a focus on diagnosing and treating training injuries and illnesses, chronic diseases, and common island ailments, while also organizing health education outreach, psychological counseling, and mentorship for grassroots medical personnel. The mission cumulatively received 3,329 patient visits, conducted 793 health examinations, delivered 12 health knowledge lectures, and performed 54 surgical procedures. In addition, the hospital ship conducted maritime emergency rescue drills.

"Silk Road Ark" is China's second independently designed and built 10,000-ton class ocean-going hospital ship, primarily tasked with medical treatment and evacuation of casualties at sea, international humanitarian medical services, emergency medical rescue in major disasters, and external military medical exchanges and cooperation. This is the third time the vessel has carried out the "Healthcare to the Maritime Frontier" mission since its commissioning in 2024.

Original Chinese

新华社湛江6月26日电（刘一诺、唐磊）海军“丝路方舟”号医院船26日顺利靠泊湛江某军港码头，历时20余天远航巡诊，完成本年度“健康送海疆”专项医疗保障任务。此次医疗巡诊采取“登岛巡诊+上船收治+上门送医”相结合的模式，深入多个偏远岛礁点位，重点围绕训练伤病、慢性病、海岛常见病开展诊疗，组织健康科普、心理疏导与基层卫生骨干帮带。任务累计接诊3329人次，健康体检793人次，健康知识授课12次，手术54台次。此外，医院船还开展了海上应急救援演练。 “丝路方舟”号是我国自主设计建造的第二艘万吨级远洋医院船，主要担负海上伤员医疗救护与后送、国际人道主义医疗服务、重大灾难应急医疗救援和对外军事医学交流与合作等任务。这是该船自2024年入列以来第三次执行“健康送海疆”任务。