MV Hondius Arrives Off Tenerife for Coordinated Evacuation After Hantavirus Cases

The MV Hondius arrived at the port of Granadilla de Abona on the Spanish island of Tenerife early on May 10, 2026, after a month-long deadly hantavirus outbreak. The ship dropped anchor roughly one nautical mile from shore and remains isolated at sea, barred from docking.

Disembarkation of the first group of passengers began shortly after dawn, with the initial plane carrying evacuated passengers having already left Tenerife by midday.

Spanish passengers and one crew member were the first to leave the vessel. Thirteen Spanish nationals and the crew member were transferred in small boats to sealed buses for the short trip to the airport. Health officials assessed all passengers on board to confirm they remained asymptomatic before any left the ship.

Spain's health minister Monica Garcia said 23 countries are involved in the evacuation of the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius. Garcia added that all passenger repatriation flights from the MV Hondius will take off by Monday. She stated the risk of contagion for the general population is low and that alarmism, misinformation and confusion run counter to basic principles of public health.

The President of the Canary Islands said he "won't be calm" until all of the passengers and crew members have left the island. European nations dispatched planes to evacuate their citizens. The 22 Britons aboard were set to be flown back to the UK on May 10.

Upon arrival they will be taken to a Wirral hospital for clinical assessment and testing, where they will stay for 72 hours before specialists decide on further isolation measures. Three people have died in the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius. Andes hantavirus has a fatality rate of about 40 percent.

The ship departed from Cabo Verde on Wednesday after three people were evacuated there. The outbreak began nearly a month earlier and is the first of its kind recorded on a cruise ship. The World Health Organization held a media briefing on disembarkation of passengers and crew from the MV Hondius in Tenerife.

The WHO is holding regular meetings to coordinate contact tracing and medical evacuations of people aboard who are showing symptoms. Signs of hantavirus infection can take as long as eight weeks to appear.

U.S. States — Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas and Virginia — have identified people within their borders who were on the MV Hondius and are monitoring them. The vessel had assembled passengers from around the world in close quarters, a setting that experts say allowed limited person-to-person transmission of the Andes strain, which is otherwise primarily spread through rodent excreta.

“This is not going to be the next COVID.”

“The risk of contagion for the general population is low. We believe that alarmism, misinformation and confusion are contrary to the basic principles of preserving public health." — Health Minister Mónica García. The operation involves military forces, disaster response teams, large reception tents and cordoned access at the port. Passengers from the remaining nationalities will continue to disembark in coordinated groups throughout the day and into Monday.”