Nearly 150 passengers and crew aboard a cruise ship anchored off Cape Verde remain locked in their cabins following a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has claimed three lives and sickened at least four others, according to exclusive footage obtained by The Associated Press.
The Dutch vessel MV Hondius, which embarked on a multi-week polar expedition from Argentina bound for Antarctica and remote South Atlantic islands, has been stranded at sea after Cape Verde officials blocked passengers from coming ashore due to health safety concerns.
Video from the ship reveals eerily vacant decks with only scattered individuals wearing face masks moving about the vessel. Passenger areas sit completely empty as travelers remain isolated in their rooms. The footage captured at least five individuals dressed in full hazmat suits – complete white coveralls, protective boots, and masks – boarding a smaller boat to leave the ship.
On Monday, the World Health Organization announced that travelers have been instructed to remain in their quarters and “limit their risk while disinfection and other measures are being taken.”
Cape Verde has deployed medical teams including doctors, surgeons, nursing staff, and laboratory experts to assist the stranded vessel.
Local officials in Praia, Cape Verde’s capital city with fewer than 200,000 residents, have implemented enhanced security measures around the harbor area as protection against the rodent-carried disease, which the WHO notes can occasionally spread person-to-person, though such transmission is uncommon.
The timeline for evacuating ill passengers remains uncertain, though the WHO indicated late Monday that sick individuals would soon be transported to the Netherlands for treatment.
Oceanwide Expeditions, the Netherlands-based cruise operator, has indicated it may redirect the ship to Spanish territories including Tenerife or Las Palmas port if evacuation to Cape Verde proves impossible.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva on Tuesday, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness, outlined current plans for the vessel “to continue on to the Canary Islands.”
“We’re working with Spanish authorities, who will welcome the ship,” Kerkhove said.
Van Kerkhove emphasized that no additional passengers are displaying symptoms and noted that “once the two sick individuals on board are medically evacuated, then the ship can move.” Cape Verde authorities had previously reported three people aboard the vessel showing mild symptoms.
However, Spain’s health ministry issued a statement Tuesday saying it was “conducting close monitoring, together with the World Health Organization and other involved countries, of the situation on the ship … (and) the most appropriate port of call will be decided. Until then, the Ministry of Health will not adopt any decision, as we have informed the World Health Organization.”
In a Monday evening statement, Oceanwide Expeditions reported that conditions aboard the ship “remains calm, with passengers generally composed” and confirmed their emergency response has reached the highest level, including quarantine procedures, sanitation protocols, and continuous health monitoring.
The cruise departed from Ushuaia in southern Argentina on April 1, according to Argentine regional officials.
While health authorities in Ushuaia confirmed no travelers showed hantavirus signs at departure, the disease can manifest up to eight weeks following exposure, explained Juan Facundo Petrina, epidemiology director for Tierra del Fuego province, in an AP interview from Ushuaia.
The WHO reported Monday evening that no new cases have emerged aboard the vessel, but the situation remains under “careful monitoring” for any changes.
“The outbreak is being managed through coordinated international response, and includes in-depth investigations, case isolation and care, medical evacuation and laboratory investigations,” the WHO stated.
Angela Gomes, Cape Verde’s National Director of Health, told state broadcaster Radiotelevisao Caboverdiana that officials are committed to ensuring “the maximum level of safety” for local residents.
“And for this reason, all assistance is being provided with personal protective equipment, with maximum protection, both to our medical team but also to the entire team that assists the medical team in transporting it to the vessel,” said Gomes.
