VESSEL REVIEW | Dr Wahidin Sudirohusodo – Indonesian Navy’s newest hospital ship boasts 242-patient capacity

Indonesian state-owned shipbuilder PAL has handed over a new purpose-built hospital ship to the Indonesian Navy. Named KRI Dr Wahidin Sudirohusodo after a famed physician and educator, the vessel is the third and newest hospital ship in the Indonesian Navy’s current active fleet.

The vessel uses the same general hull design as that of the Indonesian Navy’s Makassar-class landing platform docks (LPDs), which are primarily tasked with carrying out amphibious landings of troops, ground vehicles, and equipment. Modifications to allow the ship to perform the floating hospital role include the removal of all armament and the incorporation of various facilities to accommodate a maximum of 242 patients, including 159 bedridden patients, in addition to the 120 crewmembers and 66 medical personnel. The massive vessel was designed to accommodate a total of 643 people.

Like the Makassar-class ships on which it is based, Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo has a length of 124 metres, a beam of 21.8 metres, and a displacement of around 7,290 tonnes. A pair of 5,420kW main engines propel the hospital ship to a speed of 18 knots whereas more economical cruising at 12 knots will yield a range of 10,000 nautical miles or a maximum endurance of 30 days, ensuring sustained sea-based medical support for deployed Indonesian forces as well as civilians in need.

The onboard spaces also include isolation wards for Covid-19 patients. Other hospital facilities include an operating room, an in-patient room, a radiology centre, CT scan and X-ray facilities, a triage facility, and out-patient treatment rooms for various specialties including dental, maternity, and eye-related cases.

Despite its primary function as a hospital ship, the vessel still retains some of the extensive vehicle transport capability of the Makassar-class LPDs. The array of vehicles that can be carried include an ambulance boat, two vehicle and personnel landing craft (LCVPs), rigid inflatable boats (RIBs), and up to three utility helicopters. There is also onboard space for transporting four ambulances, three mobile hospitals, and a mobile X-ray for deployment on land.

The ship will also have secondary functions including command and control (C&C), search and rescue (SAR) and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR). These are especially important functions in light of the nature of Indonesia as an archipelagic country with numerous remote island communities as well as its susceptibility to natural disasters due to its being within the Ring of Fire region of the South-West Pacific. When used in the HADR role, the onboard spaces can house up to 200 evacuees.

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