When Peace Ark was called upon to join the rescue mission, the hospital ship was on its way back to Zhejiang province after a four-month cruise around South Asia.

"Everybody was packing and getting ready to go home," said Wu Haibo, the head nurse. "My husband and daughter had flown to the port to welcome me."

However, once deployed, the ship immediately headed south and Wu's family had to fly back to their home in Beijing without seeing her.