The cruise ship MV Hondius docked Monday at the Dutch port of Rotterdam for a full disinfection operation after a deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the vessel triggered international health concerns and left three passengers dead.
The ship arrived in Europe’s largest port carrying 25 crew members and two medical personnel, after all passengers had already disembarked during previous stages of the journey. Dutch authorities immediately began strict containment procedures upon the vessel’s arrival.
Personnel wearing white hazardous materials suits boarded the ship from the pier, while temporary quarantine facilities consisting of white container units had been installed near the docking area to isolate crew members during the monitoring period.
According to Dutch public health officials, crew members who cannot be immediately repatriated to their home countries will remain in quarantine inside the temporary facilities. All crew members are expected to undergo testing upon arrival and continue receiving weekly medical checks.
“Luckily so far the crew has suffered no symptoms,” Rotterdam public health director Yvonne van Duijnhoven said, while emphasizing that authorities are maintaining strict surveillance measures to avoid any further spread of the virus.
The outbreak aboard the MV Hondius has reached at least 11 cases, including nine confirmed infections. Health authorities say three passengers have died, among them a Dutch couple believed to have first contracted the virus while traveling in South America before boarding the cruise ship.
The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed that one Canadian passenger placed in isolation after leaving the ship tested positive for hantavirus on Sunday. Canadian officials said the case details would be shared with the World Health Organization as part of international monitoring efforts.
Dutch authorities said the vessel will undergo a three-day decontamination process based on national public health protocols before inspectors determine whether it can safely return to service. Officials stressed that the risk to the wider public remains “very low” due to the strict biosecurity measures in place.
The MV Hondius spent the last six days sailing from the Canary Islands, where the remaining passengers were escorted off the ship by personnel wearing full-body protective equipment before boarding flights to more than 20 countries for quarantine and observation.
The outbreak is believed to be the first known hantavirus incident aboard a cruise ship. Meanwhile, France’s Pasteur Institute announced that genetic sequencing of the Andes virus detected in a French passenger showed no signs of mutations that would make the virus more transmissible or more dangerous than known South American strains.
