Hantavirus Cruise Passengers Arrive in Tenerife Safely
Hantavirus-stricken passengers from MV Hondius reach Tenerife in a carefully coordinated multinational repatriation effort.
Passengers have started to disembark from the cruise ship at the center of the hantavirus outbreak, Spain’s Ministry of Health confirmed. This carefully orchestrated repatriation operation involves multiple nations working together in a meticulous effort.
The vessel, MV Hondius, docked early Sunday morning at the Spanish island of Tenerife, carrying 147 passengers. Small boats ferried groups of passengers from the ship, anchored at the Port of Granadilla, to the island in what appeared to be a tightly managed process.
Upon reaching the shores, disembarked passengers boarded waiting buses destined for the airport. From the airport, travelers are set to return to their home countries aboard repatriation flights.
Before disembarking, medical teams conducted health screenings on passengers and crew aboard the ship, according to Spain’s Health Minister Mónica García, who detailed the process earlier that morning.
Since departing Argentina last month, the cruise has been linked to three deaths caused by hantavirus—a rare illness usually contracted through exposure to the urine or feces of infected rodents. Several other individuals were evacuated earlier for medical treatment.
Local officials had previously indicated that the ship would anchor at a safe distance from the dock, and passengers would be transported to shore in groups based on nationality via small boats carrying a maximum of ten people, following guidance from the tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions.
Several nations—including the United States, Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands—have dispatched aircraft to assist in evacuating their citizens who were aboard the ship. "The sequence of disembarkation will be coordinated with arriving repatriation flights," Oceanwide said, adding that passengers’ luggage would remain on the ship for later return.
A US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official stated that the 17 American passengers—none of whom are showing symptoms—will be transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, home to the National Quarantine Unit, a federally funded facility equipped for such situations.
Following an initial assessment at the quarantine unit, the American passengers will transition to home-based monitoring for the next 42 days, with daily check-ins expected throughout this period.
Spanish passengers are set to be the first group to disembark, with 14 individuals donning FFP2 masks. Those involved in transporting and managing logistics will also wear masks, García noted on Saturday.
The Spanish passengers will be transferred to a military hospital, where they will stay in isolation rooms without visitors. PCR tests will be administered upon their arrival and once again seven days later, the Ministry of Health confirmed.
Health Minister García stated Sunday morning that two Dutch passengers on board would be the next group to leave the vessel.
The arrival of the ship has stirred tensions in the Canary Islands, an autonomous region of Spain. Fernando Clavijo, the territory’s leader, expressed opposition earlier in the week to the ship docking in the region.
Meanwhile, port workers in Tenerife organized protests, voicing their frustrations over insufficient communication about potential risks associated with the vessel.
The crew and ship are scheduled to continue on to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where the ship will undergo thorough disinfection and the crew will disembark.
The hantavirus outbreak, first reported to the World Health Organization on May 2, continues to pose a low risk to the general public, according to the organization.
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