The Africa Mercy® sails from Durban back to cyclone-ravaged Madagascar
DURBAN, South Africa—30 April 2026. Following a successful annual maintenance period, the team at Dormac bid a fond farewell to the Africa Mercy®. The hospital ship has now set sail for Madagascar, where she will once again provide free surgical services and medical training as the nation recovers from a series of devastating cyclones.
Dormac’s maintenance on the Africa Mercy® began 10 January 2026. The ship then entered Prince Edward Graving Drydock on 19 January and undocked on 1 March, at which point the work was complete.
These repairs will help extend the vessel’s service life and reliability, as well as enhance the crew’s ability to safely deliver high quality surgical care. Dormac’s maintenance was specifically focused on hull integrity, ship systems, and shop fitting. Periods of maintenance like these are essential for Mercy Ships to offer patients safe and reliable care across all clinical and operational systems on board.
“Dormac is immensely proud and privileged to support Mercy Ships,” said Chris Sparg, Managing Director of Dormac. ”We strive to ensure that our service and our Project Teams deliver on our promises bound by the incredible vision of supporting Mercy Ships and the very competent crew, management, medical personnel, and staff involved in delivering this vital service in Africa, to help so many in dire need. We wish Africa Mercy and her crew a safe next chapter in her delivery of first-class medical support after leaving Durban port.”
Chris stated that Dormac Project Teams worked closely with the Mercy Ships technical teams and the Africa Mercy’s crew and staff to ensure that all parties were aligned to execute and deliver on time for the ship’s operational schedule. The shipyard’s Joint Teams remained motivated and aligned to a common goal: that the Africa Mercy continues to deliver as expected of her vital role in Africa.
The docking and repair scope undertaken included:
• Cleaning of the ship’s hull; grit blasted and painted to ensure hull integrity and lifespan are prolonged.
• Supporting the engine OEM by renewing a crankshaft.
• Supporting the thruster OEM with the removal, overhaul, and reinstallation of the bow thruster unit.
• Renewing propulsion tail-shaft seals by bonding new seals in place.
• Renewing various steelworks to ensure the vessel hull life for ongoing service.
• Vessel piping and hull valves were renewed for functionality and class requirements.
Various accommodation shopfitting works were carried out to ensure the Africa Mercy is safe for purpose. A core component of the repairs was to ensure greater reliability, guaranteeing Africa Mercy’s critical role in supporting safer surgical procedures and helping thousands of people in desperate need of this support.
Brenda van Straten, Director of Mercy Ships South Africa, said:
“This refit represents a significant investment in the Africa Mercy’s ability to continue serving some of the world’s most underserved communities. Every improvement was made with patient safety, clinical excellence, and long-term sustainability in mind.”