Cruise ship - Hantavirus confirmed in 6 passengers, 2 more probable cases - 3 total cruise deaths (2 confirmed, 1 probable) - May 3+ - Several govs & WHO involved

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11:17 AM · May 9, 2026
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Press update | m/v Hondius: 9 May 2026, 13:30 hrs CET

by Oceanwide Expeditions News 09.05.2026

9 May 2026, 13:30 hrs CET

Oceanwide Expeditions continues to work towards a conclusion to the medical situation on board m/v Hondius.

The three individuals transferred by medicalized aircraft from m/v Hondius to the Netherlands on 6 May remain under the care and screening of medical professionals. More information is available via the WHO and other responsible authorities. We refer to the statement and press conference issued by the WHO on 7 May: https://www.who.int/news/item/07-05-...-a-cruise-ship

Oceanwide Expeditions is thankful that authorities and experts continue to further investigate the possible source of this hantavirus cluster. We are fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation. We also thank all involved parties regarding the successful transfer by medicalized aircraft of three individuals on 6 May.

No symptomatic individuals are present on board m/v Hondius. Guests and crew continue to follow the guidance of onboard medical personnel, and medical monitoring continues. This is being led by the four medical personnel who boarded the vessel prior to its departure from Cape Verde on 6 May. The atmosphere on board continues to remain positive.

Following the directive of relevant authorities, provisionally, m/v Hondius remains estimated to arrive at the port of Granadilla, Tenerife, in the early hours of Sunday, 10 May. Preparations regarding our point of arrival, quarantine and screening procedures for all guests, and the onward travel plans for all guests and crew are being led by organizations from a number of countries, including the WHO, RIVM, and Dutch authorities, in close cooperation with Spanish government authorities.

All guests and a limited number of crew members of m/v Hondius are expected to disembark at Granadilla. After disembarkation, arrangements are being made, guided by the WHO, RIVM, and Dutch authorities, for m/v Hondius to transit to the Netherlands.

We refer all inquiries regarding the process for guests departing the vessel and potential screening procedures to the WHO and involved parties, including consular representatives of onboard nationalities. Oceanwide Expeditions is not involved in the planning and facilitation of guest screening and repatriation.

There is one revision to our passenger nationality list published 8 May 19:00 hrs CET: one Congolese individual was erroneously stated as being a Dutch national. This individual is one of the medical staff who embarked the vessel on 6 May. For administrative purposes, all medical staff are listed as passengers, not as crew.

All media inquiries should be directed to: Mrs. Kiki Hirschfeldt: kiki@coebergh.nl

For all other matters, we refer to our previous press updates. The unchanged list of previous official communications is as follows:
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https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/press/press-update-m-v-hondius-9-may-2026-13-30-hrs-cet

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Press update | m/v Hondius: 9 May 2026, 23:00 hrs CET

by Oceanwide Expeditions News 09.05.2026

9 May 2026, 23:00 hrs CET

Oceanwide Expeditions continues to work towards a conclusion to the medical situation on board m/v Hondius.

For a detailed update on the medical situation of passengers and crew, both currently aboard m/v Hondius and those receiving medical care in several countries, we kindly refer to the WHO: https://www.who.int/emergencies/dise...em/2026-DON600. A statement from Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, is found below: https://www.who.int/news/item/09-05-...virus-response

The vessel is scheduled to arrive at the port of Granadilla, Tenerife, on Sunday, 10 May, at 05:30 AM local time. All guests and a limited number of crew members are expected to begin to disembark from m/v Hondius in managed groups at Granadilla, from around 08:00 AM local time. Once disembarked, they will be transferred immediately to their allocated aircraft.

Oceanwide Expeditions is not involved in the planning and facilitation of guest screening and repatriation. As outlined by the WHO, in partnership with a number of international organizations and governments, guests will be transported by air to their respective countries, where they will enter quarantine procedures. These procedures are determined by respective national authorities. No quarantine of non-Spanish nationals will take place in Spain.

Disembarkation will take place using either the Zodiac craft of m/v Hondius, or launch boats, with a maximum of 5 passengers per Zodiac or 10 passengers per launch boat in accordance with defined health protocols. The sequence of disembarkation will be coordinated with arriving repatriation flights. Luggage of all guests will remain on board m/v Hondius. Oceanwide Expeditions is in contact with all guests regarding the process for returning all luggage safely to them.

After the guest and limited crew have disembarked, m/v Hondius will bunker and take on necessary supplies at Santa Cruz, Tenerife. Following this, the vessel will transit to the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands with the remaining crew members aboard. Further details regarding the vessel's arrival in Rotterdam will be provided when available. The expected sailing time to Rotterdam is around 5 days.

For all inquiries relating to shore processes, we refer to the WHO.

We would like to issue a confirmation of the following list of nationalities as being on board m/v Hondius in April. Of the 114 guests that departed Ushuaia, Argentina with m/v Hondius on April 1, there were 3 guests traveling having already traveled with m/v Hondius from 20 March - 31 March (Ushuaia-Antarctica-Ushuaia): 1 Greek national and 2 Dutch nationals. All three individuals have not developed symptoms.

All media inquiries should be directed to: Mrs. Kiki Hirschfeldt: kiki@coebergh.nl

For all other matters, we refer to our previous press updates. The unchanged list of previous official communications is as follows:
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https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/press/press-update-m-v-hondius-9-may-2026-23-00-hrs-cet

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Press update | m/v Hondius: 10 May 2026, 12:40 hrs CET


by Oceanwide Expeditions News 10.05.2026

10 May 2026, 12:40 hrs CET

Oceanwide Expeditions continues to work with relevant authorities to bring the medical situation on board m/v Hondius to a conclusion.

The vessel arrived at the port of Granadilla, Tenerife, on Sunday, 10 May, at 06:24 AM local time. Led by local authorities, the WHO, and select international governments, the disembarkation of all guests and a limited number of crew members is now underway. This is being performed by launch boats and, if necessary, the Zodiac craft of m/v Hondius. Upon disembarkation, all individuals will be transferred immediately to waiting aircraft. The sequence of disembarkation is being coordinated with the arrival of repatriation flights.

Oceanwide Expeditions is not involved in the planning and facilitation of guest screening and repatriation. As outlined by the WHO, in partnership with several international organizations and governments, guests will be transported by air to their respective countries, where they will enter quarantine procedures. Respective national authorities determine these procedures. No quarantine of non-Spanish nationals will take place in Spain.

For all inquiries relating to shore processes, we refer to the WHO.

After all guests and limited crew have disembarked, m/v Hondius will bunker and take on necessary supplies at Santa Cruz, Tenerife. Following this, the vessel will transit to the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands with the remaining crew members aboard. Further details regarding the vessel's arrival in Rotterdam will be provided when available. The expected sailing time to Rotterdam is around 5 days.

All media inquiries should be directed to: Mrs. Kiki Hirschfeldt: kiki@coebergh.nl

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https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/press/press-update-m-v-hondius-10-may-2026-12-40-hrs-cet

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Guardia Civil@guardiacivil
Translated from Spanish

Moment of the disembarkation of the occupants of the MV HONDIUS, captured by a Civil Guard drone. The agents have received the passengers equipped with protective suits, for their transfer to Tenerife South Airport.

Screenshots from the video:







6:12 AM · May 10, 2026

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• 9 May 2026

Hantavirus: Enhanced Medical Capability

As part of the St Helena Governments (SHG’s) preparedness arrangements, we are pleased to inform the public that we have enhanced our medical capabilities on the island, as a purely precautionary measure.

Three additional medical staff arrived on the island today, comprising an infection prevention and control specialist and two laboratory scientists. We are grateful to UK Health Security Agency(UKHSA) for their support in this respect.

Furthermore, two members of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) have also arrived to assist with logistics and planning.

We expect to receive additional medical consumables on the return of the Airlink flight from Ascension, scheduled for tomorrow. Similar supplies have already been delivered there.

As previously notified, a patient for whom a diagnosis of hantavirus is considered probable is currently on Tristan. To assist with their planning, preparation and response we are pleased to advise that a Royal Air Force (RAF) flight conducted an airdrop of essential equipment and personnel to Tristan this afternoon.

These responses demonstrate that the commitments made by the UK Government are more than just words. They are delivering real, tangible support across the island groups of the Territory as a whole.

The arrival of additional personnel and equipment on St Helena does not change the current position. It is not a cause for concern but a matter of reassurance. There are no symptomatic individuals on the island and no suspected cases. We still consider the risk to the wider community to be very low. As we have stated throughout, we continue to plan with an abundance of caution given the potential medical consequences, should a case be confirmed.

We reiterate the need to continue to follow the public health advice and rely on official sources of information.

#StHelena Hantavirus #Medicalsupplies

www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt

https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/hantavirus-enhanced-medical-capability/

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First Ever Emergency Airdrop onto Tristan

Report, photos and video from Philip Kendall

The UK Government has made a bold decision to support our three territories. Ascension, St Helena and Tristan following the outbreak of hantavirus on the MV Hondius. This has included sending an Airbus A400M Atlas plane from Ascension Island to Tristan on the 9th May 2026 in order to drop eight military personnel by parachute onto the golf course and 3.3 tonnes of medical supplies equipment in three batches at the Patches. These are to help with the Tristan side of the outbreak. This is the first time ever that a plane has flown low over Tristan to drop urgent supplies, making it an extra special occasion.


The supplies and medics which this airdrop brought will give much needed support to our hard working medical team at Camogli Hospital. A truly remarkable feat of logistics, thanks to the UKHSA, FCDO, MoD and UK Government Ministers, without whom this would not have happened.

Sights never before seen on Tristan, as parachutists descend into the settlement in front of the 1,500ft cliffs, and medical supplies are dropped at the Patches

A special thanks must go out to the brave team that jumped out into the golf course, another first, and to our search and rescue team who were on the water, just in case.



The first men were taken to the Patches, where from the top of one of the mounds they guided in the aircraft for cargo drops.

Thanks must also be given to everyone on Tristan who pulled out all the stops at short notice, to ensure that our special visitors were accommodated, fed and given a good Tristan welcome.

More details to follow...

https://www.tristandc.com/news-2026-05-09-airdrop.php

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Rapid Scientific Advice on the management of passengers - In the context of the Andes virus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius

Assessment

• 9 May 2026

As of 9 May 2026, a total of eight cases of Andes virus infection, including three deaths and one critically ill patient, linked to the M/V Hondius cruise ship have been reported.

Key messages

• ECDC has classified all people on board the ship and for the purpose of disembarkation and repatriation to be high-risk contacts.
• Monitoring/quarantine up to six weeks (42 days); Day 0 = 6 May 2026.
• High-risk contacts: self-quarantine, daily symptom monitoring, test if symptomatic.
• Low-risk contacts: passive monitoring; isolate and test if symptoms develop.
• Flights: trace contacts for probable/confirmed cases only (same row ±2 rows on long flights).
• IPC: masking, one to two metres distancing, PPE for healthcare/cleaning
• Strong risk communication and misinformation management.

This document provides advice for public health professionals in the EU/EEA managing individuals potentially exposed to ANDV, including on:

• Defining contact classification criteria based on level of exposure, including close and prolonged contact with symptomatic people;
• The identification, management and monitoring of contacts, including advice on testing.
• Appropriate infection prevention and control (IPC) measures for managing repatriated passengers and crew, suspected and confirmed cases and their contacts in healthcare and community settings; and
• Risk communication, community engagement and the management of misinformation.

ECDC rapid scientific advice disclosure statement: ECDC issues rapid scientific advice to meet an emergent or urgent public health need or to quickly reply to external requests. To accommodate the accelerated timeline, the process and methods used for the development of rapid scientific advice may be modified from those of standard assessments and recommendations. Potential limitations are described.

Publication file Rapid Scientific Advice on the management of passengers - In the context of the Andes virus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius
English (462.87 KB - PDF)

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/rapid-scientific-advice-management-passengers-context-andes-virus-outbreak-cruise