The hospital ship USNS Mercy will deploy from San Diego on Sunday morning for the annual Pacific Partnership humanitarian deployment to the South Pacific.
During its four-month mission, the Mercy’s medical staff will visit Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Vietnam, the Navy said.
Various charitable organizations will also take part in the 10th Pacific Partnership voyage, along with representatives of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Canada, Timor Leste, Fiji and France.
Pacific Partnership was inaugurated in 2006, two years after the devastating tsunami that swamped the coastline of several Indian Ocean nations. Part of the mission is to help countries with disaster preparedness.
The effort will be led by Capt. Christopher Engdahl, commander of the Everett, Washington-based Destroyer Squadron 9.
— City News Service
