WMS-Renovated Rongdhonu Vessel Starts Operation, Bangladesh

Western Marine Shipyard revamped Friendship’s floating hospital ‘Rongdhonu’ commenced its operation yesterday, November 14, through its inauguration at Marine Workshop Ghat in the Chittagong port.

The floating hospital ‘Rongdhonu’, ship which has been renovated by Western Marine, will provide valuable primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare to vulnerable and marginalized populations living in the remote, hard-to-reach area on the cost of Bangladesh and for emergency healthcare around the coastal areas of the region.

‘Rongdhonu,’ formerly known as Rainbow Warrior II, was a Greenpeace International’s vessel that has contribution greatly to modern history, having been an integral part of Green peace’s campaigns all around the world against nuclear testing, environmental crimes and whaling . Greenpeace International handed over the Rainbow Warrior II to Friendship, a non-government organization in Bangladesh, on 16 August last year in Singapore at a ceremony in order to converted it into a floating hospital.

Friendship provided the job to Western Marine to convert the vessel into a full fledge floating hospital on August 2011. Western Marine completed workmanship in the floating hospital and the ship’s accommodation area in one year.

Technical director of Western Marine Arifur Rahman Khan confirmed that all work has been carried out in compliance with International Maritime Organization (IMO) & Germanischer Lloyd (GL) class rules & guideline. This conversion work began in August 2011 with support from S.K. Foundation of Netherlands, Kadoorie Charitable Foundation of Hongkong, Cordaid of Netherlands and Friendship International Luxembourg.

Western Marine MD Sakhawat Hossain said, “Rongdhonu’ will serve for the general people of Bangladesh who actually need the healthcare services. We are happy to be a part of this noble effort.”

Friendship’s Founder and Executive Director Runa Khan said, “We always wanted to expand our regular healthcare activities to the southern region, and Rongdhonu will enable us to do exactly that. I am sure that Rangdhonu, through its operations will stay true to the spirit of the historical ship which it was converted.”

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Press Release, November 15, 2012