Anastasis

deployed 1978 – retired 2007

History

Formerly the Victoria, the Anastasis was built in 1953 as an Italian passenger liner and served as the flagship of the Mercy Ships fleet from 1978 to 2007. During that time, the Anastasis contributed more than half of Mercy Ships total output in terms of number of services, value and beneficiaries. An average of 350 crew from more than 30 nations lived and worked onboard.

Facilities & Features

The former passenger liner was modified to contain three fully-equipped operating rooms, a hospital ward, a dental clinic, a laboratory, an X-ray unit, three cargo holds and accommodation for 420 crew. She carried a fleet of over 20 vehicles for onshore work.

Length159 mBreadth20,73m
Gross Tonnage11.701BuiltTrieste, Italy
RegisteredMalteCrew Capacity420
Cargo Capacity3 holds/3.060 m3 totalMain Engines2 Fiat 7,510 (8,050 BHP each)
Draft7.2mSurveyed ByLloyds

Services Delivered

Since 1978, the Anastasis performed more than 1 million services in her lifetime, at a total value today of over $278 million with an estimated 1.2 million people as direct beneficiaries.

  • Performed more than 18,800 surgeries such as cleft lip and palate repair, cataract removal, straightening of crossed-eyes, orthopaedic and facial reconstruction.
  • Treated more than 88,600 people in village medical clinics.
  • Performed more then 137,000 dental treatments.
  • Coached over 4,000 local healthcare professionals who have in turn trained many others, ensuring that medical expertise is retained after the ship’s departure.
  • Taught more than 59,700 local people in basic healthcare.
  • Completed more than 540 construction and agriculture projects including schools, clinics, orphanages and water wells.

Ports Visited

The Anastasis visited 275 total ports and conducted 66 field assignments in 23 nations: Guatemala, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Mexico, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Poland, Togo, Ghana, Estonia, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Lithuania, Senegal, Latvia, South Africa, Madagascar, Benin, Gambia and Liberia.

Trivia

An estimated 25,000 volunteer crew members served on the Anastasis. Over 250 couples met as crew and several weddings were held onboard, including one at sea.

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