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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 13th 2026 - 13:53 UTC

Tag: MV Hondius

  • Tuesday, May 12th 2026 - 02:27 UTC

    Labs across three continents confirm passenger-to-passenger spread on hantavirus cruise

    Hantavirus shows a reduced capacity to mutate compared with other pathogens such as influenza or coronaviruses

    A comparative genomic analysis of five people infected aboard the polar cruise ship MV Hondius has confirmed that the hantavirus spread from passenger to passenger during the voyage, according to a study published on the open scientific platform Viriological and produced jointly by laboratories in South Africa, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The scientific finding supports the hypothesis handled since the outbreak began, which has left ten people infected and three dead, and completes the epidemiological picture after weeks of investigation.

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  • Saturday, May 9th 2026 - 06:43 UTC

    Tenerife braces for race-against-time operation to evacuate 140 from MV Hondius

    The operational window is narrow. Canary Islands government spokesman Alfonso Cabello warned that the evacuation must be completed between Sunday and Monday

    Spain faces a complex international operation in Tenerife on Sunday to evacuate the passengers and crew of the cruise ship MV Hondius, struck by a hantavirus outbreak that has left three dead and five laboratory-confirmed cases among the eight identified by the World Health Organization. The Dutch-flagged vessel, carrying more than 140 people and one body still on board, will anchor off the port of Granadilla between 3:00 and 5:00 a.m. local time.

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  • Friday, May 8th 2026 - 15:40 UTC

    Ushuaia landfill scrutinized in cruise ship hantavirus outbreak probe

    Several of the roughly 150 tourists who set sail for Cape Verde on 1 April had visited the landfill, which is frequented by birdwatchers from around the world, drawn by scavenger species

    Seven kilometers from downtown Ushuaia, the municipal landfill serving Argentina's southernmost city has become one of the focal points of the epidemiological investigation into the hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship. Health teams are searching the site for traces of infected rodents. The landfill is frequented by birdwatchers from around the world, drawn by species such as the white-throated caracara, a scavenger bird endemic to the region.

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  • Thursday, May 7th 2026 - 09:06 UTC

    Foreign Office statement on the Hantavirus outbreak and UKOTs under support

    “Ministers are in close touch with our Dutch and Spanish counterparts and we have been working with other countries to facilitate the medical evacuations”, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper

    A statement from Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on the Hantavirus outbreak, “The outbreak of Hantavirus is very serious and deeply stressful for those affected and their families. The UK response is being led by the UK Health Security Agency working with the WHO.

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  • Wednesday, May 6th 2026 - 16:10 UTC

    WHO confirms Andes strain in MV Hondius outbreak and traces 23 passengers who disembarked at Saint Helena

    The MV Hondius is expected to take between three and four days to reach the Canary Islands from its current position off Cape Verde

    The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Wednesday that the variant responsible for the hantavirus outbreak aboard polar cruise ship MV Hondius is the Andes virus, the only documented strain capable of human-to-human transmission, raised the total number of linked cases to eight, and launched the international tracing of 23 passengers who left the ship two weeks ago during a stop at the island of Saint Helena. The confirmation of the strain represents a significant epidemiological development and substantially widens the scope of the health investigation.

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  • Tuesday, May 5th 2026 - 03:23 UTC

    Cape Verde denies docking to hantavirus-hit cruise ship as WHO confirms seven cases

    Aboard the Dutch-flagged Hondius are 147 passengers and crew members of 23 nationalities, including 17 Americans and at least 4 Canadians

    Cape Verde's health authorities on Monday denied permission to dock at the port of Praia to polar cruise ship MV Hondius, on board which the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed seven cases of hantavirus — two of them laboratory-verified — and three deaths linked to the voyage. The decision leaves the nearly 150 people remaining on board in prolonged isolation in Atlantic waters, while medical evacuations are coordinated for patients in the most serious condition and authorities evaluate the possibility of continuing the journey toward the Canary Islands, on Spanish territory.

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  • Monday, May 4th 2026 - 01:45 UTC

    Three dead in hantavirus outbreak aboard polar cruise ship from Ushuaia bound for Cape Verde

    The current itinerary included stops at the Falklands, the South Georgia Islands, and Saint Helena. According to maritime tracking websites, the ship was on Sunday off the port of Praia

    The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed three deaths on Sunday aboard the polar cruise ship MV Hondius from a hantavirus outbreak, a disease typically transmitted through rodents. The vessel, operated by the Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions, had set sail from the port of Ushuaia, in Argentina's Tierra del Fuego province, on March 20, bound for the port of Praia in Cape Verde, where its journey was scheduled to conclude on May 4.

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  • Wednesday, April 1st 2026 - 08:44 UTC

    Antarctica, eco-sail expedition vessels will have a hybrid sail propulsion system

    The eco-sail vessels to be delivered in 2029 and 2030 are an iteration of Oceanwide Expeditions’ existing Hondius-class design.

    Oceanwide Expeditions which specializes in Arctic and Antarctic cruises will construct two 146-passenger eco-sail expedition vessels, constructed with a hybrid sail propulsion system, reducing fuel consumption and lowering operational emissions.