Island Residents' Health Guardian Vessel 'Chungnam 501', Replacement Ship Constructed Due to Aging

In February 2001, the hospital ship Chungnam 501 held a safe voyage prayer ceremony and embarked on its first voyage of the new year. Source=Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is set to construct a new hospital ship to replace the ‘Chungnam 501,’ which has served as a health guardian for island village residents.

According to the province on the 9th, the hospital ship Chungnam 501 was built in February 2001 and has served for 20 years, traveling around island areas within Chungnam to protect the health of island village residents.

In fact, Chungnam 501 has toured 31 island areas across six cities and counties in Chungnam, caring for the health of over 3,600 residents.

However, due to the recent aging of the vessel, its safety and seaworthiness have declined, and repair costs have increased annually, making the introduction of a new hospital ship an urgent task.

Accordingly, the province recently held a kickoff meeting for the ‘Basic and Detailed Design Service for the Replacement Construction of Hospital Ship Chungnam 501’ and decided to build a new hospital ship suitable for the West Coast, considering regional characteristics such as shallow water depths in island areas by equipping it with a waterjet propulsion system.

The province plans to invest a budget of 12 billion KRW for the introduction of the new hospital ship and aims to have a new 200-ton class hospital ship operational from 2023.

Kim Seok-pil, Director of the Low Birthrate, Health, and Welfare Office of the province, said, "We will strive to introduce the optimal hospital ship to ensure the safety of vessel users and protect the health of island residents.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.