NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – After returning in August from a 78-day humanitarian mission, the crew of the USNS Comfort was full of energy.

Formerly an oil tanker before it was converted into a Mercy-class hospital ship by the Navy in 1987, she provides maritime medical services across the world for disaster relief and humanitarian missions.

Built with 12 operating rooms and 1,000 beds, it is a fully working hospital on the water.

“We are fully trained surgeons, anesthesia providers, perioperative nurses and surgical technologists. One thing that makes us different, of course, is that we're on a ship as the ship moves. So, one thing to highlight here is our overhead operating lights. They do have cables on them, so we're able to secure them in place when we are underway,” said LCDR Holly Cook,

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