The cruise ship MV Hondius, which became the focus of international concern after a deadly hantavirus outbreak on board, is due to end its voyage in Rotterdam on Monday, with the remaining crew expected to enter weeks of quarantine.
The vessel, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, is scheduled to arrive at the Dutch port between 10:00 local time and midday. The 27 people still on board include 25 crew members and two medical staff members.
The ship drew global attention after three passengers died from hantavirus, a rare disease for which there are no vaccines or specific treatments. The World Health Organization has sought to reassure governments and the public that the outbreak does not resemble the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on 12 May.
However, he warned that further cases could still emerge because the virus has an incubation period of several weeks.
According to an AFP tally based on official data, hantavirus has been confirmed in six patients, with one additional probable case. A separate patient in Canada has also tested provisionally positive but remains asymptomatic, with the result still awaiting confirmation.
More than 120 passengers and crew were evacuated after the ship reached the Canary Islands on 10 May. Some were repatriated directly to their home countries, while others travelled to the Netherlands, which assumed responsibility because the vessel sails under a Dutch flag.
A 65-year-old French woman developed symptoms during a repatriation flight and was later admitted to a Paris hospital in critical condition with a confirmed infection.
Two other passengers, one Dutch and one British, were airlifted to the Netherlands from the ship and taken to hospital. Dutch authorities said both were now in stable condition, while the British patient was well enough to return home for self-isolation.
Officials said everyone else evacuated to the Netherlands had tested negative. Some remain in quarantine facilities, while others have already travelled home.
Oceanwide Expeditions said all people still aboard the vessel are asymptomatic and are being closely monitored by the medical team.
Late on Sunday, the WHO maintained its assessment that the outbreak represented a “low risk”.
“While additional cases may still occur among passengers and crew members exposed before containment measures were implemented, the risk of onwards transmission is expected to be reduced following disembarkation and the implementation of control measures,” the organisation said.
Those due to disembark in Rotterdam include 17 people from the Philippines; four from the Netherlands, including the two medics; four from Ukraine; one from Russia and one from Poland. Some will enter quarantine at the port, while others will isolate at home.
The body of a German woman who died during the voyage also remains on board.
After docking, the ship will undergo extensive cleaning and disinfection procedures. The operator said preparations were still being finalised but that the work would begin immediately after arrival.
The voyage began on 1 April in Ushuaia and included stops at remote islands in the South Atlantic before heading north towards Cape Verde. The cruise had originally been due to end there, but the ship later continued to Tenerife in the Canary Islands to allow passengers and crew to be evacuated by air.
The outbreak also created diplomatic complications as governments negotiated over where the vessel could dock and who would take responsibility for passengers requiring treatment.
Cape Verde refused entry to the ship, which remained anchored off the capital, Praia, while three passengers were evacuated to Europe. Spain later allowed the vessel to anchor near the Canary Islands for the evacuation process, although regional authorities strongly opposed the decision.
Hantavirus spreads through contact with the urine, faeces and saliva of infected rodents and is endemic in parts of Argentina, where the cruise began. Health officials said those infected were carrying the Andes strain, the only form of hantavirus known to spread between humans.
