The hantavirus-hit polar expedition cruise ship MV Hondius departed the Spanish island of Tenerife for the Netherlands on Monday after the final group of passengers and crew members were evacuated from the vessel following a complex international health operation.
The Dutch-flagged luxury cruise ship briefly docked at the port of Granadilla de Abona, where the remaining six passengers — four Australians, one British national living in Australia, and one New Zealander — disembarked along with 19 crew members and two doctors.
According to the Dutch Foreign Ministry, the evacuated passengers and staff were transported by bus to a local airport before boarding two flights to the Netherlands. The vessel later resumed its journey carrying 25 crew members, a doctor, and a nurse.
Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia confirmed the operation had concluded successfully. “Mission accomplished; we’ve just wrapped up the operation and the ship has just set sail,” she said.
The remaining crew members are expected to complete quarantine procedures in the Netherlands, while the passengers travelling onward to Australia will follow quarantine protocols determined by Australian authorities.
The evacuation marks the end of a 41-day ordeal since the ship departed southern Argentina and nine days after the first confirmed positive case of the Andes strain of hantavirus was identified onboard.
So far, the outbreak has resulted in three deaths, including a Dutch couple and a German national. Health authorities said the virus is typically transmitted by wild rodents but, in rare cases, can spread through close human contact.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the decision to evacuate passengers rather than continue prolonged quarantine onboard was partly driven by mental health concerns.
“There was even mental breakdown for some of the passengers. It’s very difficult to stay for weeks in a small container. This was the best and the only option we had,” Tedros said during a press conference in Tenerife.
The ship’s captain, Jan Dobrogowski, praised the cooperation of passengers and crew during the crisis. “I could not imagine sailing through these circumstances with a better group of people, guests and crew alike,” he said in a message released by Oceanwide Expeditions, the cruise operator.
The WHO said there are now seven confirmed cases of the Andes strain of hantavirus linked to the outbreak, along with two suspected cases. One of the confirmed cases involves a French passenger whose condition reportedly deteriorated after testing positive following the ship’s arrival near the Canary Islands.
Spanish authorities also reported that one of 14 Spaniards quarantining at a military hospital in Madrid tested positive for the virus, though officials said the patient remained asymptomatic and further tests were underway.
The US Department of Health and Human Services said one American passenger being repatriated had also tested mildly positive for the virus, while another American passenger developed mild symptoms.
Health officials stressed that the overall risk to the public remains low because hantavirus does not spread easily between people.
“People should also put their minds at rest that the situation is under control,” said Gianfranco Spiteri, emergencies lead at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). “We know the virus. We can prevent further onward transmission. We’re not expecting a new pandemic from this.”
The MV Hondius had been carrying 147 passengers and crew from 23 countries when a cluster of respiratory illnesses was first reported to the WHO on May 2.
The outbreak was initially detected after a British passenger who had disembarked earlier sought treatment in Johannesburg, South Africa. By that stage, another passenger had already died weeks earlier.
The WHO has recommended a 42-day quarantine period for all passengers connected to the outbreak.
