90-Second Read: Company says it’s not clear when its Hantavirus-hit ship will start cruises again

Oceanwide Expeditions says it expects to know by the end of the week if the MV Hondius cruise ship will keep to its schedule after a Hantavirus outbreak. The captain of the Hantavirus-stricken ship thanked his crew and passengers for their 'unity' and 'strength' in a video message released on Monday. Passengers board a plane bound for Eindhoven, after disembarking from the Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the airport in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Monday, May 11, 2026. The Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius is seen at anchor at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Monday, May 11, 2026. Three of the ship's passengers died in an outbreak that was first confirmed earlier this month while the vessel was in the Atlantic.

They ruled out any link to the Hantavirus outbreak on the Hondius. The Andes virus implicated in the cruise ship outbreak can have an incubation period of up to eight weeks and a mortality rate of up to 50%, according to the World Health Organization. The Hantavirus outbreak aboard the Hondius is the first known case on a cruise ship. In all, there have been nine confirmed and two suspected cases in the outbreak. Asked on Monday whether it would amend its cruising schedule due to the outbreak, Oceanwide Expeditions said it did not "foresee changes to our operations", which included a new cruise beginning May 29 from Keflavik, Iceland.

More than 120 people, all passengers and some of the crew, were evacuated from the Hondius in Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday and Monday and are in isolation in several countries. Despite years of research, many questions have yet to be answered about the Hantavirus, including exactly how it spreads, how long it can survive outside a host and why it can be mild for some people and severe for others. The virus usually spreads from rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people, though the Andes virus may be able to spread between people in rare cases. The genome of the Hantavirus has been completely sequenced, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said Wednesday. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 16 gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise.

Based on that data, I would say that currently we have no reason to suspect that this is a new virus. He and other experts say more contagious bugs, like measles or the norovirus, are much larger threats on cruises. None is showing symptoms, and the vessel is expected to arrive on May 17 or 18, Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement Tuesday. The specific protocols are currently being finalized" in cooperation with health authorities. The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment told the AP on Tuesday the vessel "will be cleaned and disinfected.