90-Second Read: Hondius cruise ship ready to sail again after Hantavirus outbreak

The cruise ship at the centre of a Hantavirus outbreak has been disinfected and is ready to set sail again with passengers, its operator said on Monday. Preliminary investigations indicate that the Hantavirus was brought aboard by passengers and did not originate on the ship, Oceanwide Expeditions said. At the time of the outbreak, the ship was en route from Argentina to the Canary Islands.

The Hondius is to depart on June 6 for Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. From there, it is due to set off on June 13 on a voyage through the Arctic Ocean, the Dutch cruise line Oceanwide Expeditions announced. Specialists from Dutch health authorities carried out a comprehensive cleaning and disinfection of the ship.

In Tenerife, the passengers and most crew members were able to disembark and fly to their home countries. The World Health Organization had confirmed that there was no risk of a major wave of infection or a pandemic. Authorities cleared the vessel for service over the weekend, and there is no longer any risk of infection, the company said.