Urgent evacuation planned for Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship amid narrow window

Authorities in Spain’s Canary Islands are racing against time to evacuate passengers from the hantavirus-affected cruise ship MV Hondius, warning that the operation must be completed within a narrow weather window or face significant delays.

The Dutch-flagged vessel, carrying 149 passengers and crew and travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde, is expected to reach waters off Tenerife on May 10. Spanish officials say it will not dock but will instead remain anchored near the port of Granadilla, where passengers will be assessed and repatriated in a tightly controlled medical operation, The Guardian reports.

Regional officials warned that worsening weather could disrupt the plan.

“The only window of opportunity we have to carry out this operation is around 12 o’clock on Sunday morning and until conditions change from Monday,” said Alfonso Cabello, a spokesperson for the regional government. He added: “Otherwise, the ship must leave and no operation could be carried out again in theory … until the end of May.”

Spain’s Health Minister Mónica García described the response as an “unprecedented operation,” coordinated with the World Health Organization and multiple international partners.

“We’re coordinating this from Spain and the World Health Organization has entrusted Spain with this operation – which, as I’ve said, is unprecedented. We’re going to do what we have to do, which is work and deliver the necessary health and logistical management.”

She confirmed that passengers requiring urgent care would be treated, while others— including asymptomatic foreign nationals—would be repatriated under strict protocols.

“The international protocols will be followed – as will all the strict measures when it comes to health prevention,” she said.

Three people – a Dutch couple and a German national – have died in the outbreak on the ship. Four others confirmed to be infected – two Britons, a Dutch and a Swiss national – are being treated in hospitals in the Netherlands, South Africa and Switzerland.

On May 8, the British and Spanish authorities said they were investigating two possible new cases. One involves a British national on the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, where the cruise ship made a stop on 15 April. The other involves a woman who was on the same flight as a Dutch patient who died in Johannesburg after travelling on the MV Hondius and contracting the virus. She is being treated in a hospital in the eastern Spanish region of Alicante.

The World Health Organization said the public risk remains low. WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said the virus spreads only through “very close contact” and is “not spreading anything close” to Covid-like transmission.

He added: “This is a dangerous virus, but only to the person who’s really infected, and the risk to the general population remains absolutely low.”

Authorities across multiple countries are coordinating repatriation flights and contact tracing efforts, while Spain faces logistical and public concern over hosting the high-risk operation. Regional president Fernando Clavijo said strict measures were in place to avoid any contact with the local population, noting: “We know with certainty that no one will get off the ship if their plane is not already waiting on the runway.”

By Sabina Mammadli