Hantavirus update: MV Hondius docks in Tenerife as global repatriation operation begins

The MV Hondius cruise ship has arrived at the port of Granadilla de Abona in Tenerife, marking the start of a major international evacuation and repatriation operation following the hantavirus outbreak linked to the vessel.

Spanish health officials boarded the ship on Sunday morning to carry out final medical assessments and oversee the controlled disembarkation of passengers and crew.

According to Spain’s health minister, Monica Garcia, all repatriation flights are expected to depart by Monday, with passengers being transferred directly from the port to Tenerife South Airport under strict health protocols.

The operation is being coordinated by Spanish authorities alongside the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and multiple national governments.

Passengers are being disembarked in stages by nationality, beginning with Spanish citizens, followed by Dutch, Turkish, French, British, and American nationals. Dutch-operated evacuation flights will also carry passengers from Germany, Belgium, and Greece, while the final repatriation flight will transport six passengers to Australia.

Authorities said passengers would bypass normal airport procedures and be taken directly to aircraft after medical screening.

The vessel arrived in Tenerife after departing Cape Verde earlier this week, with Spanish officials selecting the remote Granadilla port to minimise contact with the local population. Sealed buses, hazmat-equipped response teams, and dedicated airport operations have been deployed as part of the transfer process.

The outbreak has so far resulted in eight reported illnesses, including three deaths involving a Dutch couple and a German passenger. The WHO has confirmed six laboratory-confirmed cases of Andes hantavirus – the only known hantavirus strain capable of rare person-to-person transmission – alongside two further suspected cases.

No passengers remaining aboard the ship are currently showing symptoms, according to health authorities, although all are being treated as high-risk contacts as a precautionary measure.

The UK has confirmed plans to repatriate 19 British passengers and three crew members from the vessel on Sunday. They will be flown to Merseyside and transferred to Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral for quarantine, the same facility that received British nationals returning from China during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the US is coordinating a separate repatriation operation for 17 American passengers, who will be transferred to a federal quarantine facility in Nebraska following their return.

Separately, the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed that British military personnel and medical staff had been parachuted into Tristan da Cunha to support a suspected British hantavirus case linked to the cruise ship. The remote South Atlantic island has no airport, requiring specialist airborne deployment of medical aid and personnel.

For now, 30 crew members will remain aboard the MV Hondius as it continues to the Netherlands for full disinfection procedures.

The WHO continues to assess the risk to the wider global population as low, although it says the risk to passengers and crew on board remains moderate.