After finishing its call at Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), the People’s Liberation Army Navy Type 920 hospital ship “Ark Silk Road” arrived in the port of Montevideo (Uruguay) for a technical stopover from 20 to 24 January. Its visit forms part of the Harmony-2025 humanitarian mission, the vessel’s first tour of South America, aimed at strengthening medical and diplomatic cooperation between China and countries across the region.
Harmony-2025: medical cooperation with Brazil
While in Brazil, Ark Silk Road carried out a public-health cooperation programme with the Brazilian Navy, providing free medical services to local residents. Joint activities were also conducted with the Marcílio Dias Naval Hospital and the force’s Operational Medical Centre, alongside academic exchanges and a combined combat search-and-rescue demonstration. Together, these initiatives underscored the mission’s practical, operational focus and further consolidated the reach of China’s medical diplomacy in the region.
Montevideo: Ark Silk Road technical stop authorised by Uruguay
In Uruguay, Ark Silk Road’s presence is strictly limited to a technical call. Authorisation for the ship to enter Uruguay’s jurisdictional waters was granted by the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives, permitting a technical stop during its passage through the South Atlantic.
On board are 378 personnel-doctors, nurses and technicians-assigned to the Southern Theatre Command of the Chinese Navy. All are part of the ship’s permanent complement and take an active role in the humanitarian operations the fleet conducts in various parts of the world.
“Ark of the Silk Road” and its 2025 itinerary
The “Ark of the Silk Road” (a translation of Ark Silk Road) sailed in 2025 from the port of Quanzhou, in Fujian province, as part of an international health-assistance and diplomatic operation. Over the course of its extensive itinerary, it has called at Nauru, Fiji, Tonga, Mexico, Nicaragua, Jamaica and Barbados, delivering thousands of consultations and medical procedures.
Resupply in Montevideo before Valparaíso
As planned, the Montevideo stop will allow Ark Silk Road to complete resupply and maintenance tasks before continuing on to Valparaíso, Chile, where it will complete its South American tour. Harmony-2025 is one of the most far-reaching humanitarian operations undertaken by the Chinese Navy in the Americas, reaffirming its role as a global actor in medical cooperation and humanitarian assistance.
Type 920 hospital ship capabilities
With a displacement of 14,000 tonnes, this Type 920 hospital ship includes 14 clinical departments, 7 diagnostic units, 8 operating theatres and capacity for 300 beds, including 20 intensive care beds. It is equipped to carry out between 40 and 60 surgeries per day and operates a Z-8JH helicopter for medical evacuation missions.
Image credits: Uruguay National Ports Administration – Chinese Navy.
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