visit. An advance team begins a massive screening of thousands of prospective patients, to see who qualified for a surgery. It is common for people to walk for days (and even from neighboring countries) to find out whether they may be eligible for surgical treatment. After spending 10 months in Conakry, Guinea, from August 2018 until June 2019, the Africa Mercy traveled to the Canary Islands for her annual maintenance period. Prior to that, the volunteer crew completed a field service in Douala, Cameroon, which lasted from August 2017 through June 2018. Prior to that, the Africa Mercy served in the port of Cotonou, Benin, August 2016 to the summer of 2017. The summer of 2016 was spent completing dry dock and annual maintenance in Durban, South Africa. The ship was previously docked in Toamasina, Madagascar, from October 2014 through June 2016, for two field services. Before that, the ship served in Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo from August 2013 till May 2014. Before The Republic of Congo the vessel was docked in Conakry, Guinea, and Lomé, Togo. The Africa Mercy docked in Freetown, Sierra Leone, for her 2011 field service, which lasted for ten months. At the conclusion of each field service, the Africa Mercy goes into dry dock, where it is resupplied and receives any needed repairs or upgrades before heading to her next port of call. In 2019, the Africa Mercy docked in Dakar, Senegal, for a six-month field service. On February 1, 2022, the Africa Mercy returned to Dakar, Senegal with the goal to provide surgery to approximately 950 patients whose surgeries were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new ship, the MV Global Mercy, in partnership with Stena RoRo, finished construction and joined the fleet in June 2021. The Global Mercy is the organization's first purpose-built hospital ship and is the largest civilian hospital ship in the world. In February 2023, the Global Mercy arrived in the Port of Dakar, Senegal, to begin her first surgical field service, where she is anticipated to provide more than 800 surgeries in the next five months. Mission Mercy Ships is a predominantly Christian interdenominational missionary organization, describing their mission as "bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor, following the 2,000-year-old model of Jesus". The organization treats all patients free of charge, and without regard to their religion, race, or gender. Mercy Ships vessels have visited 601