MV Hondius: Hantavirus Repatriation in Canary Islands
Nearly 150 passengers and crew members aboard the “MV Hondius” remain symptom-free as the cruise ship nears the Spanish Canary Islands. After a period of quarantine in Cape Verde due to a hantavirus outbreak, the vessel is steaming toward Tenerife for a massive, multi-national repatriation effort.
Race to the Canary Islands
Spanish Secretary General for Civil Protection, Virginia Barcones, announced Friday that the ship is making “good progress” and may arrive at the port of Granadilla as early as Saturday night—ahead of its original Monday schedule. The World Health Organization (WHO) designated Tenerife as the nearest port equipped with the technical facilities required to safely manage the disembarkation of 23 different nationalities.
The logistics of the operation are complex. Passengers will be ferried from the anchored ship via smaller boats and then shuttled by bus to Tenerife South airport. While the initial plan involved emptying the vessel, Barcones confirmed that approximately 30 crew members will remain on board to navigate the “MV Hondius” to its final destination in the Netherlands immediately after refueling.
A Global Repatriation Effort
The international community has moved quickly to recover its citizens. The United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany have already confirmed they are sending aircraft to Tenerife. Passengers not covered by specific national flights will be transported via resources from the European Civil Protection Mechanism or by the Netherlands, the shipowner’s home country.
Health officials remain cautiously optimistic. Spanish Secretary of State for Health, Javier Padilla, noted that doctors from the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) currently on board report no active symptoms among the travelers. However, Spain has requested specialized ambulance planes to be on standby should any individual require isolated transport upon arrival.
Potential Case Under Investigation in Spain
While the ship remains clear of new infections, Spanish health authorities are investigating a potential hantavirus case on the mainland. A woman is currently in isolation at a hospital in Alicante after developing a cough and other “compatible symptoms.”
The patient was reportedly on a flight from Johannesburg in late April. During a brief stop, a passenger from the “MV Hondius”—who later died from the virus—boarded that same aircraft. Officials are currently awaiting test results to confirm if the woman contracted the disease during that brief window of exposure.
Spanish Health Minister Mónica García emphasized that only those in need of urgent, life-saving medical care will be hospitalized in Tenerife, a scenario she described as “very unlikely” given the current health reports from the ship.
Image: Pexels – Jan van der Wolf
