90-Second Read: Before Hantavirus Outbreak, the MV Hondius Attracted ‘a Different Type of Traveler’

Former passengers on the MV Hondius say that the ship was made for wildlife expeditions and that the crew took safety very seriously. By Lynsey Chutel Claire Moses and Amelia Nierenberg The MV Hondius, the vessel at the center of a Hantavirus outbreak, is no ordinary cruise ship. None of that was enough to protect the ship from the Hantavirus, a rare family of viruses carried by rodents.

Sometimes, there are sniffer dogs to make sure passengers don't bring contaminants on board when they go on shore to sensitive ecosystems. So far, three of its recent passengers have died and five others are showing symptoms, according to the World Health Organization. Health officials in a growing list of countries are scrambling to trace people who may have been exposed to the virus after the ship set sail in Argentina in early April, stopping at islands in the south Atlantic Ocean.

The vessel was ferrying about 150 people, including 88 passengers and 61 crew members. Several former MV Hondius passengers said the ship did not dock at ordinarily crowded tourist destinations. Oceanwide Expeditions, the vessel's owner, said it could not immediately respond to a request for comment.