Overview
- Rotterdam health authorities said on May 30 that the Hondius had been effectively cleaned and disinfected in line with official guidelines, allowing the vessel to leave port after final inspections.
- Oceanwide Expeditions said the ship will depart Rotterdam once inspections are complete and is scheduled to resume passenger sailings from June 13.
- The hantavirus outbreak occurred during a voyage from the southern tip of Argentina toward the Cape Verde islands, the ship arrived in Rotterdam on May 18, and three passengers died during the incident, including one German national.
- Reporting identified the virus as the Andes strain, which is notable because it is the only hantavirus reliably linked to limited person-to-person transmission, and there is no vaccine for hantavirus infections.
- Officials evacuated passengers, disembarked remaining crew, and followed standard port public-health procedures for containment and disinfection, a process that may increase scrutiny of expedition operators and lead to closer monitoring of rodent exposure on remote-route cruises.