Mission Ship

The project is to build a small ship, we call it a medical ship. It will be a sailing ship with an auxiliary engine that will carry trained personnel, such as doctor, nurse, teacher, around the islands of the world, wherever we are needed, in the first instance to provide vaccines in accordance to the UNICEF campaign to vaccinate every child in the world.

The vision of Ixdos came when I was working in remote Milne Bay of Papua New Guinea. There I was reminded how mission schooners used to operate in bygone years, carrying medicine, people and goods between the islands. But the schooners have gone, yet the problems remain, as I discovered while working for the PNG Health Service. When I approached the local UNICEF office they were overjoyed at the prospect of a new health mission ship to supplement and deliver to remote islands lacking clinics.

Returning home I realized that perhaps I was the right person in the right place at the right time…My background as a seaman coupled with project and construction experience could lead to fulfillment of a dream to improve the lot of deprived islanders wherever they may be… Then came the opportunity to work as a teacher in an international school near the ocean at Phuket, Thailand. In my spare time I found a naval architect, sourced the necessary steel and materials, and started building. A host of friends and students joined in.