Groups of passengers and crew disembarked from the cruise ship MV Hondius on Sunday after the vessel arrived off the Canary Islands following a deadly hantavirus outbreak onboard. Authorities from multiple countries are now repatriating their citizens under strict quarantine protocols aimed at preventing further spread of the disease. Thirty crew members will remain on board and sail to the Netherlands on Monday evening, where the ship will be disinfected.
The ship reached the industrial port area of Granadilla in southern Tenerife on May 10 after departing Cape Verde several days earlier. However, Spanish authorities did not allow the vessel to dock directly at the port. Instead, MV Hondius remained anchored offshore while passengers were transferred to land by smaller boats and transported to Tenerife airport in military buses without coming into contact with the public.
According to operator Oceanwide Expeditions, no additional passengers or crew currently onboard are showing symptoms of hantavirus. Nevertheless, health authorities are maintaining the highest level of precaution due to the long incubation period associated with the Andes strain of the virus.
Disembarkation operations involved medical personnel in full protective gear. Passengers were reportedly screened for symptoms, disinfected, and only allowed to bring limited personal belongings ashore before boarding evacuation flights organized by their home countries.
Military and government aircraft from several countries, including Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Turkey, the United States, Norway, and Australia, were involved in the evacuation effort. Evacuation flights from Canada, the Netherlands, Turkey, the UK, Ireland, and the United States departed on Sunday, with the final flights scheduled for departure by 19:00 LT on Monday.
Some countries are placing returning passengers into mandatory government-supervised quarantine facilities, while others are relying on home isolation and medical monitoring.
The World Health Organization continues to state that the overall public health risk remains low, but it recommends up to 42 days of quarantine, observation, or isolation for potentially exposed individuals. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reportedly traveled to Tenerife to coordinate with Spanish authorities overseeing the operation.
As of the latest available figures, eight people linked to the voyage have reportedly fallen ill, with six confirmed hantavirus cases. Three people have died during the outbreak.
The outbreak has triggered an unusually complex international response and renewed scrutiny of biosecurity measures aboard cruise vessels. The Andes strain of hantavirus involved in the incident is considered particularly concerning because it can spread between humans through close contact.
Once all passengers and most crew members have been evacuated, MV Hondius is expected to proceed to Rotterdam under isolation measures. The vessel will reportedly undergo further disinfection and technical sanitation procedures upon arrival.
