A cruise ship at the centre of a deadly hantavirus outbreak has arrived in Spain’s Canary Islands, where health authorities have begun plans to evacuate most of the nearly 150 passengers and crew after weeks at sea.
The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius arrived on Sunday at the port of Granadilla de Abona Port under escort from Spain’s Civil Guard. Maritime tracking data also confirmed the vessel’s arrival after days of growing international concern over the outbreak.
Passengers and part of the crew are expected to disembark before the ship continues its voyage to the Netherlands.
The outbreak has already claimed three lives. Those who died were identified as a Dutch husband and wife and a German woman. Several other passengers also became ill during the voyage.
Health officials said the outbreak involved the Andes virus, the only known hantavirus strain capable of spreading from one person to another. That confirmation raised global attention because most hantavirus infections are normally linked to contact with infected rodents rather than human transmission.
A repatriation aircraft was seen waiting at Tenerife South–Reina Sofía Airport, prepared to transport Dutch nationals and other passengers back to their home countries once evacuation is completed.
World Health Organization officials described everyone on board as high-risk contacts because of the possibility of exposure during the long voyage.
Maria Van Kerkhove said health authorities were treating all passengers and crew as potentially exposed. However, she stressed that the risk to the wider public and residents of the Canary Islands remains low.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who arrived in Spain on Saturday and is expected to oversee parts of the evacuation process, also sought to reassure the public.
In an open message to the people of Tenerife, he stressed that the situation should not be compared to the global COVID-19 crisis. He said Spain was fully prepared and expressed confidence that the evacuation operation would proceed safely.
Emergency preparations at Tenerife port
At the industrial port of Granadilla de Abona early Sunday, emergency preparations were visible. White medical tents were set up along the quay while security personnel secured restricted areas of the port.
Despite the health alert, everyday life on the island continued largely without disruption. Residents were seen swimming, shopping and gathering at cafés, with no widespread panic visible.
Some locals acknowledged there was concern, but many said public anxiety remained relatively low.
Regional authorities refused to allow the ship to dock directly at the port. Instead, the vessel has remained offshore while health officials carry out passenger screening and evacuation procedures between Sunday and Monday. Authorities said this period represents the safest weather window for the operation.
Cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions said all passengers and a limited number of crew members would begin disembarkation from around 7:00 GMT.
The company explained that after leaving the ship, evacuees would be moved directly to designated aircraft for immediate departure.
Confirmed infections and international tracing
The WHO said six of eight suspected cases have now been confirmed. Officials added that no additional suspected cases remain on board.
The MV Hondius had been sailing from Cape Verde, where three infected passengers had already been medically evacuated earlier in the week.
Spanish authorities said strict tracing and containment measures are now underway. Officials in Madrid said passengers would leave the island in nationality-based groups and would have no direct interaction with the local population.
Authorities also announced that all transit zones used by passengers would remain sealed off, while a maritime exclusion zone would remain in place around the vessel during operations.
Voyage began in Argentina
The ship departed from Ushuaia on April 1 for an Atlantic crossing bound for Cape Verde.
Provincial health official Juan Petrina said there is an almost zero chance that the first Dutch passenger linked to the outbreak contracted the virus in Ushuaia. He explained that available evidence, including the virus’s incubation period, suggests exposure likely occurred later during the voyage.
Health agencies in several countries are now tracing passengers who previously disembarked, along with anyone who may have had close contact with them.
A flight attendant from Dutch airline KLM who came into contact with an infected passenger later developed mild symptoms but tested negative for hantavirus, according to the WHO.
The passenger involved was the wife of the first victim of the outbreak. She had briefly boarded a flight from Johannesburg to the Netherlands on April 25 but was removed before departure. She died the following day in a Johannesburg hospital.
Spanish health officials also confirmed that a woman who had been on that flight later developed symptoms in eastern Spain and is currently in hospital isolation while undergoing testing.
Global monitoring expands
Authorities in Singapore said two residents who had been aboard the ship tested negative but will remain in quarantine as a precaution.
British health authorities also reported a suspected case on Tristan da Cunha, one of the world’s most remote island communities with a population of around 220 people.
The international monitoring effort continues as public health agencies work to determine the full extent of exposure linked to the voyage.
The arrival of the MV Hondius in the Canary Islands now marks the most critical phase of the response, with health officials focused on safe evacuation, medical monitoring and preventing further spread beyond the ship.
