Cruise ship with deadly hantavirus outbreak granted permission to dock in Spain's Canary Islands after evacuating three patients

A deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the Dutch-flagged luxury cruise ship MV Hondius has killed three people and infected at least nine passengers and crew, prompting Spanish authorities to grant the vessel permission to dock in Tenerife despite objections from Canary Islands regional leader Fernando Clavijo. The ship departed Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1, 2026, and has been anchored off Cape Verde since May 4 with nearly 150 people isolated in their cabins. Three patients—German, Dutch, and British nationals—were evacuated on May 6 and flown to the Netherlands for treatment, while authorities confirmed the outbreak involves the rare Andes strain of hantavirus, which unlike other strains can transmit between humans through close contact. International health agencies including the CDC and WHO are coordinating monitoring efforts across multiple countries where passengers have returned, though officials emphasize the risk to the general public remains very low given the virus's limited transmission capabilities.

Hantavirus outbreak on MV Hondius cruise ship and patient evacuations

• ▪The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius left Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1, 2026.
• ▪The 69-year-old Dutch woman who got off the MV Hondius died on April 26, 2026 after her condition deteriorated during a flight to Johannesburg.
• ▪Three patients suspected of having hantavirus were evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship on May 6, 2026.
• ▪The MV Hondius has been anchored off Cape Verde since May 4, 2026.
• ▪A 69-year-old Dutch woman got off the MV Hondius with gastrointestinal symptoms on April 24, 2026.
• ▪Two medical aircraft landed in the Netherlands on May 7, 2026 carrying the three individuals evacuated from the MV Hondius.

Political dispute over docking in Spain's Canary Islands

• ▪The Spanish government granted the MV Hondius permission to dock in Spain's Canary Islands on May 6, 2026.
• ▪Spain's health minister Monica Garcia Gomez confirmed the MV Hondius would dock in Tenerife within three days of May 7, 2026.
• ▪The voyage from Cape Verde to the Canary Islands is expected to take 3-4 days for the MV Hondius.
• ▪The MV Hondius departed Cape Verde at 19:15 CET on May 6, 2026 and is sailing for the port of Granadilla in Tenerife.
• ▪Fernando Clavijo, leader of the Canary Islands regional government, rejected the plan for the MV Hondius to dock in the Canary Islands on May 7, 2026.

International response and monitoring of suspected cases

• ▪The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was preparing medical support for all Americans aboard the MV Hondius as of May 6, 2026.
• ▪A man who traveled on the MV Hondius and returned to Switzerland at the end of April 2026 tested positive for the Andes strain of hantavirus.
• ▪The U.K. Health Security Agency confirmed one British national was evacuated from the MV Hondius to receive care in the Netherlands on May 6, 2026.

4 sources