The U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy is currently traveling north along the West Coast off the coast of Mexico after passing through the Panama Canal last week, according to the latest Automatic Identification System (AIS) data.

Recent signals from the AIS show the 1,000-bed hospital ship making steady progress in the eastern Pacific after its canal transit. This movement confirms earlier observations that the ship's southbound route in late February was part of a Pacific repositioning instead of heading directly to the North Atlantic.

This latest data gives us a clearer idea of where the ship might be headed after President Donald Trump's controversial comments about sending a hospital ship to Greenland.

Mercy left the Alabama Shipyard in Mobile in late February following a brief maintenance period for ballast tank repairs. AIS data at that time showed the vessel moving at about 10.8 knots on a south-southeast course through the central Gulf of Mexico towards the Yucatán Channel, which many interpreted as a likely trip to the Panama Canal instead of a detour to the U.S. East Coast or the Arctic.

A few days later, the ship was seen on webcam in the Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal, heading south toward the Pacific on March 2.

The ship's movements gained significant attention after President Trump tweeted last month that the U.S. would send a hospital ship to Greenland, stating it was "on the way." This announcement caused confusion among officials and led to a strong response from Greenland’s leadership, who pointed out their universal healthcare system and clarified that they had not requested such a deployment.