The ship will dock in Quy Nhon city in the central province of Binh Dinh at the end of the month and stay in the city for around 13 days, Captain Lisa Franchetti, told a US-based Vietnam News Agency correspondent.

The visit to Vietnam is humanitarian, she added. Its crew will work with their Vietnamese colleagues and officials from non-government organisations to set up mobile general health and dental clinics, to diagnose and treat local people.

They will also help to carry out several technical projects, as requested by the local authorities, and exchange their medical knowledge and experiences with local doctors.

Since the beginning of all their preparations for the trip to Vietnam late last year, many of Mercy’s working groups have come to Binh Dinh and worked with the local authorities on many issues, including compiling lists of patients to receive operations on board.

Captain Phranchetti also said that the trip’s principal purpose is to work with their host nations to build up the relationships and capabilities essential for responding to natural disasters in the region.

Some of the doctors and crew members on the trip are of Vietnamese origin.
As part of the “Pacific Partnership,” the Mercy will also visit Cambodia, Indonesia, East Timor and Palau, according to the Navy’s Third Fleet.

The Mercy has already visited Vietnam many times on the same mission.