An 89-year-old Swiss passenger ship, out of commission due to the coronavirus pandemic, was re-purposed on Tuesday as a COVID-19 vaccination centre for thousands of residents from cities on Lake Constance, Reuters reported.

The 500-passenger MS Thurgau normally carries tourists and commuters between German and Swiss cities on Europe’s third-largest lake. In coming weeks it will serve as a floating inoculation hub for northern Swiss towns Romanshorn, Arbon, and Kreuzlingen.

Regional officials emphasized the ship’s practicality since it can sail from harbor to harbor, earning it the nickname “vaccine vaporetto” with some locals.

Switzerland reported just over 1,600 new infections on Tuesday, bringing its total to 526,000, with the cases of fast-spreading variants doubling every week. Nearly 8,800 people have died.

Aboard MS Thurgau there are two shot stations capable of vaccinating 24 people per hour—one every five minutes—or 168 people daily, during a seven-hour shift.

As more vaccines arrive in Switzerland, stations can be expanded to eight.