The charity provides free medical care and humanitarian aid to some of the world's poorest people.

Sysco Guest Supply has provided 1,500 bars of glycerin soap and 600 bars of normal bath soap - worth £450 - to be used on the ship's forthcoming field service in Togo which starts in January 2012.

The soap will be used on the ship in the hospital, as well as in the Hospital Out-Patient Extension (HOPE) Centre, which provides a secure shelter for patients awaiting surgery or recovering from surgery.

The Africa Mercy has been converted from a Danish rail ferry to a state-of-the-art hospital ship, with six operating theatres, X-ray facilities and CT scanner, a pharmacy and a laboratory.

It has capacity for 78 in-patients with four wards and a small intensive care unit as well as housing 450 volunteers.

It is staffed by an international crew of volunteers from over 40 nations, ranging from seamen and engineers to surgeons, doctors and nurses.

Rae Rutter of Sysco Guest Supply Europe, said: "Upholding corporate and social responsibility is an extremely important principle of Sysco and we are pleased to support a charity which is providing a fantastic and vital service in West Africa."

Over the last 32 years, Mercy Ships has worked in more than 70 countries providing services valued at £530m and impacting about 2.9 million people.