Project Profile: MV YWAM PNG medical ship

Youth With a Mission (YWAM) exists to meet the real and felt needs of young people and empower them to bring hope and assistance. YWAM medical ships offer registered training to students from Australia and around the world. The organization started working in Papua New Guinea in 2010 and acquired the MV YWAM PNG, a small cruise liner, in 2014. The vessel was retrofitted into a training and medical ship and equipped with a dental clinic, day procedure unit, lab, and accommodation for 130 volunteers.

Authorized Dealer Austec Building Automation installed a Reliable Controls building automation system during the retrofit of the ship. The network architecture consists of a MACH-ProWebCom controller and four MACH-ProPoint expansion modules in addition to a MACH-ProView LCD controller connected via MS/TP in the plant room that allows technicians to easily access and adjust values.

Controlled mechanical equipment includes two circulating chilled-water pumps and two condenser-water pumps that use seawater for cooling.

Before the retrofit, the existing controllers were failing and overdue for an upgrade. The ship sails in the tropics, so the crew needs to depend on the chiller for comfort. The retrofit was done under tight timelines so it could be completed before a scheduled departure.

The MV YWAM PNG is an innovative concept shared with provincial and district health teams to deliver healthcare services, supplies, and support to rural health workers in hundreds of remote villages around Papua New Guinea. Reliable Controls and Austec are proud to be part of this important mission.