Engineers at a shipyard in Jiangyin, a coastal city in Jiangsu province, have been working on a project never undertaken before in China: converting container ships into floating hospitals.

The project, which involves two container vessels, is now nearing completion and the converted ships are expected to be delivered to their owner, a German elderly healthcare company, in the autumn, said Zhou Jianxiang, general manager of CSSC Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, a subsidiary of the State-owned industry conglomerate China State Shipbuilding Corp.

Each of the vessels, measuring approximately 130 meters in length and 20.6 meters in width before conversion, had a displacement of more than 8,200 metric tons and could carry up to 700 standard containers.

Conversion work on the vessels began in July 2020. However, progress was slow due to drastic and frequent changes made to the original conversion plan by the shipowner. This led to difficulties in meeting the project schedule and finalizing specific designs.

Moreover, workers at the shipyard were required to remove a great deal of apparatus that had already been installed on the ships because of the redesigning, said engineers involved in the project.

Once ready, the floating hospitals will measure about 137.5 meters in length and 23.3 meters in width, and have a displacement of around 12,000 metric tons, Zhou said.

Each of the converted vessels will be able to accommodate 189 medical and support personnel and 211 patients.

Each ship will be equipped with advanced medical equipment, including computerized tomography scanners, and 120 patient beds, he added.

In accordance with the shipowner's requirements, engineers have installed three extra decks and a helicopter landing platform.

Equipment such as power generators, freshwater generators, kitchen hardware and laundry facilities, has also been installed.

Zhou noted that this is the first time that any Chinese shipyard has converted container ships into floating hospitals.

The manager said that hospital ships are of great help in the event of epidemics because they can be rapidly deployed to coastal regions and can ensure effective isolation to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

Established in 1973, CSSC Chengxi Shipyard is well known for its expertise in ship repair and conversion. It is also one of the nation's major builders of commercial ships such as freighters and oil tankers.