Passengers stranded on board the hantavirus-hit MV Hondius cruise ship have revealed life in currently like onboard, with experts warning there is a long road ahead for them
Passengers onboard the MV Hondius have revealed what life is really like inside the stranded ship, as bleak footage of deserted decks and empty restaurants emerge.
The virus-hit vessel is not your average cruise ship. At just 107-meters long, it’s a small polar exploration liner designed for touring the Arctic and Antarctic with birding, kayaking and hiking all part of the appeal.
Worlds away from the natural wonders they signed up for, the 147 passengers are now mostly confined to their cabins after three deaths as a result of a hantavirus outbreak. The cruise ship currently is marooned off the coast of Cape Verde, with no-one offering them anywhere to port.
Three people have now been medically evacuated from the ship and taken to the Netherlands for treatment. Those who remain aboard the Oceanwide Expeditions boat, which had been travelling from Argentina on a 46-day Antarctic expedition, now face an agonising wait for answers.
Argentine government officials investigating the outbreak now say it may be linked to a Dutch couple’s birdwatching tour at a landfill site in Ushuaia on the Tierra del Fuego, which they took before boarding the ship.
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Inside the doomed ship
Built in 2019, the specialist small explorer vessel caters for outdoorsy types, taking passengers on nature-focused voyages.
Instead of glitzy outfits for nighttime entertainment, travellers are advised to bring along “casual and comfortable clothing for all activities”, with plenty of layers, as they may be walking “several hours per day”. Passengers are able to explore shores along the route using two inflatable Zodiac boats positioned on deck.
Those who hop aboard the the 107-metre polar explorer vessel are expected to be in good health so as to enjoy activities such as daily Zodiac excursions, plus activities such as birding, kayaking, and hiking, on top of educational expert-led lectures by biologists, geologists and glaciologists.
“Remember, you will be travelling in remote areas without access to sophisticated medical facilities, so you must not join this expedition if you have a life-threatening condition or need daily medical treatment,” the cruise website states.
While ages can vary from thirtysomethings to people in their 80s, the majority of passengers are aged between 45 and 65, with expeditions attracting “independent travelers from around the globe who are characterized by a strong interest in exploring remote regions.”
Up to 170 passengers can be accomodated, with six grand suites with balconies, eight junior suites (19 to 20 square meters), eight superior cabins, 11 twin deluxe cabins, 14 twin window cabins, plus 27 twin porthole cabins, two triple porthole cabins, and four quadruple porthole cabins.
Reviews left by travellers point towards the sense of “camaraderie” the crew prides themselves on. One describes it as a “once in a lifetime” experience, while another writes that it is “such a wonderful and inspiring expedition, with such a lot of wildlife sightings and beautiful, breathtaking scenery”.
But a third passenger found the trip to be “disappointing,” claiming: “The ship lacked basic amenities, including an elevator. Most of our group were seniors aged 70+, and the constant need to climb multiple flights of stairs for drinking water, meals, and excursions was exhausting. There were no accommodations offered for older guests or those with mobility challenges.”
Now, the usually bustling ship looks quite different. The restaurant and alfresco dining areas now look like ghost towns, while the decks remain abandoned, with no guests looking out to get a spectacular view of the ocean. Passengers appear to be largely confined to their rooms, awaiting all important updates, with activities axed and staffs wearing masks.
Tearful passengers
American passenger Jake Rosmarin is one of the only people onboard to speak out so far. In a tearful video shared online, he said: “What’s happening right now is very real for all of us here. We’re not just a story. We’re not just headlines. We’re people. People with families, with lives, with people waiting for us at home.”
“There’s a lot of uncertainty and that is the hardest part. All we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity and to get home.” In an additional update, the travel vlogger clarified that “everyone on board is doing okay”, sharing: “I’m feeling well, getting some fresh air and continue to be well fed and taken care of by the crew… just trying to focus on the positive”.
Meanwhile, fellow passenger Qasem Elhato has said that “morale on the ship is high” amid the crisis, which unfolded during the lengthy journey across the South Atlantic. Qasem 31, told the Associated Press: “Our days have been close to normal, just waiting for authorities to find a solution. We’re keeping ourselves busy with reading, watching movies, having hot drinks and that kind of thing.”
A third guest, Helene Goessaert, told Belgian broadcaster VRT that all those on board are “in the same boat, literally”. She said: “You don’t embark on a trip with the idea that one of your fellow passengers won’t make it. We receive information at regular intervals. It is accurate. For the rest, it is a waiting game. Today we received fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. That was very important to us.”
It’s understood that 19 passengers and four crew members travelling aboard MV Hondius when disaster struck were British. While typically linked to environmental exposure – including contact with urine or faeces from infected rodents – in rare instances, hantavirus infections are spread between people, resulting severe respiratory illness in humans.
As a precaution, MV Hondius passengers have been asked to stay in their cabins while areas are disinfected and other public health measures are carried out. The operator said: “Strict precautionary measures are in process on board, including isolation measures, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring. All passengers have been informed and are being supported.”
Horror illness takes hold
It’s understood that the body of the first victim, a 70-year-old Dutch man, had been on the vessel for almost two weeks before it was removed. The man had developed a fever, headache, and mild diarrhoea, on April 6, which later escalated into respiratory distress. He died on April 11.
His body was taken off the boat April 24 when it was disembarked on the island of St Helena. It’s was at this point that the man’s wife, who had complained of gastrointestinal symptoms during the journey, also departed the vessel. During a flight to Johannesburg, the 69-year-old woman’s condition continued to deterioate and, on April 26, she sadly died at an emergency department.
A third passenger, a 69-year-old British man, was medically evacuated to South Africa after reporting shortness of breath and signs of pneumonia, and tested positive for a variant of Hantavirus. He remains in a critical condition. A fourth individual, an unnamed woman, suffered symptoms of pneumonia and died on May 2. Her cause of death has not yet been established. Oceanwide Expeditions has stated that the exact cause of the deaths and cases are under investigation, as are any potential connections.
Maria van Kerkhove, the WHO’s head of the emerging diseases and zoonoses unit, said: “We do believe that there may be some human-to-human transmission that is happening among the really close contacts.”
Hantavirus survivor Shaina Monteil tells the Mirror what it felt like to suffer from the fatal illness as a child, remembering how doctors cried as she miraculously recovered. The now 38-year-old Californian schoolteacher, who unknowingly inhaled dust contaminated by rodent waste while playing outside, recalls: “It was like a miracle. They managed to treat me, it was so painful and my body was swollen”. She added: “Doctors were crying as I recovered. Everyone was in shock and telling my mum they didn’t know how I was still alive.”
Quarantine survivor’s advice
Elaine Spencer, 60 from Kent, was stuck in quarantine on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan with her husband John, 61, for 14 agonising days during the 2020 pandemic. She says that passengers onboard the rat virus-hit liner will be feeling “quite vulnerable”.
“It’s the unknown that really gets you, and that will be the hardest part for them. We weren’t allowed out of the room. And we weren’t getting much food. It was pretty scary,” she says.
“My son was giving us updates from news reports because we weren’t being told what was happening on the outside. The lovely captain kept us sane with his announcements. But it was a very surreal situation.”
“We didn’t have a window or a balcony in our room, so we couldn’t get any fresh air,” she tells the Mirror. “I’m sure passengers will be feeling quite vulnerable and scared now the Canary Islands don’t want them to disembark, they’ll have that ‘where do we go next’ feeling.”
On advice she would give to the trapped passengers, Elaine, who wrote the book Diamond Quarantine: A Cruise Wrecked By Covid-19, said: “Just keep focused. We were just watching films and reading books. My husband exercised in the mornings, but the days were very long. The time difference meant we could only talk to our family in the evening. We had regular announcements every two or three hours, but they weren’t always in English.
Emergency evacuation
Three patients have been evacuated from the cruise ship today and are being taken to the Netherlands, in coordination with “the World Health Organisation (WHO), the ship’s operator and national authorities from Cabo Verde, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands”, as per WHO director general Tedros Ghebreyesus.
New photographs show healthcare workers clad in hazmat suits taking people ashore, including one patient seen seated in a wheelchair as they disembarked at Cape Verde’s Nelson Mandela International Airport.
Swiss authorities say one man is being treated for hantavirus at Zurich’s University Hospital Zurich (USZ), while emphasising, “There is currently no risk to the Swiss public.”
The statement read: “The man had returned from a trip to South America with his wife at the end of April. Having noticed symptoms, he telephoned his GP and went to the University Hospital Zurich (USZ) for further assessment. There, he was immediately placed in isolation.”
A desperate battle to dock
MV Hondius had initially been due to arrive in the Canary Islands by Friday or Saturday after an agreement was struck between WHO and Spain’s Ministry for Health, with the Spanish goverment declaring that the “moral and legal obligation” is to allow for docking in the Canary Islands.
However, Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo has now said that he opposes the docking of the ship, resulting in an argument with the national government. Arguing that there are not sufficient “guarantees” for the public safety, Clavijo is now calling for an urgent meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. He said: “This decision is not based on any technical criteria, nor is there sufficient information to reassure the public or guarantee their safety. I cannot allow it to enter the Canary Islands.”
Travel expert Alexandra Dubakova has described this unfolding situation as “a perfect example of diplomatic and humanitarian dilemma”, noting: “According to IHR guidelines, each country must support any ship with suspected diseases. However, according to international laws of maritime law, sovereignty allows any state to refuse from any form of assistance.”
Alexandra said that there “are multiple stakeholders interested in resolving the issue, including the Government of the Netherlands, WHO, and passenger home governments, including the UK and the USA. These, she believes “will definitely try persuading Spain to allow docking as the ship.” Alexandra predicted: “They will definitely rely on the Spaniards to create a carefully planned disembarkation procedure since the ship does not have the necessary resources to deal with ICU patients.”
John William, a travel advisor at Easy Travel & Tours Ltd., tells the Mirror that Clavijo could still refuse, even in the face of such pressure. He explained: “While international law encourages aiding ships in distress, port states have the right to protect public health and can deny entry, especially if the port cannot properly manage the medical emergency.”
He continued: “If Clavijo maintains his refusal, high-level political intervention from Madrid or the European Union will likely be required to force a docking in Tenerife. The ship is moving toward the Canary Islands regardless, aiming for a docking in the next few days.”
What comes next?
Having previously been denied docking at Cape Verde, the operator now faces a delicate mission ahead, and even if passengers are allowed to disembark at the Canary Islands, it won’t be an easy path, with plenty of important boxes to tick. According to Alexandra, once a docking location is finalised, a number of procedures will follow to ensure health and safety of those on land.
This will include the creation of a restricted area established by port authorities, whereby “no one leaves the ship until a highly-specialized medical team enters in full PPE (Level C, at least) to run a triage of all the passengers”. There will also be health screenings, where passengers will be tested for “the particular ‘prodromal’ symptoms of the disease”.
Then will come the evacuation tiers. Alexandra, who has observed tourist industry reponses to past public health crises in a professional capacity, predicted: “The passengers showing symptoms are likely to be evacuated on special ambulances and admitted into negative pressure rooms. The contacts (passengers living in cabins of deceased/infected persons) might be placed in mandatory quarantine. Low-risk group, i.e., the passengers with no symptoms of the disease, remain under strict passive surveillance.”
On this point, John agrees, asserting that passengers “will likely be quarantined on board or transferred to a designated, secure facility on land for a surveillance period, as hantavirus symptoms can take one to eight weeks to appear.” While Sir Kier Starmer has already discussed safe travel arrangements being put in place for passengers, it’s believed “the home governments of the 23 nationalities on board will be responsible for transporting their citizens home, likely via chartered repatriation flights”.
However, for loved ones back home longing to see those affected, there may not be any family reunions anytime soon. As explained by Alexandra: “Unfortunately, probably not the way people think about. The high mortality rate, 30-50 per cent requires strict measures which might exclude family visits. The passengers are likely looking at a very long road of testing and observation before they are allowed to hug their families. It’s a tragic end to what was supposed to be a dream Antarctic expedition.”
John added: “It is highly unlikely that family members will be allowed to see passengers during the initial quarantine period. Interaction would likely be restricted to phone or video calls to prevent further spread of the virus, which can be fatal.”
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplccom
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