If all goes to plan, the cruise ship that gained notoriety for a hantavirus outbreak will get back to cruising with passengers in less than a month. That comes from a statement posted by Oceanwide Expeditions’ CEO Rémi Bouysset to the cruise line’s website on Tuesday.
In mid-April, the cruise line’s M/V Hondius had a passenger pass away while onboard the ship. Then, that passenger’s wife, who disembarked to travel with her husband’s remains, fell ill and passed soon after leaving the vessel. A third passenger passed on the ship in early May. Meanwhile, a number of others fell ill and multiple tested positive for hantavirus.
Most of the roughly 150 passengers and crew onboard were finally disembarked in Tenerife just over a week ago (32 people left the ship in Saint Helena earlier in the trip), after having to spend longer than expected on the ship as medical protocols were set in place.
From there, a skeleton crew sailed with the ship from Tenerife to Rotterdam. M/V Hondius arrived there on May 18.
According to the CEO, “the vessel will now undergo a complete cleaning and sanitization process, together with the full implementation of additional protocols, procedures, and a complete crew transition before returning to operations.”
The cruise line expects to have its first cruise back with passengers in mid-June.
“We will ensure that m/v Hondius returns to the field fully prepared and with the highest possible standards of safety and operational readiness, with the continuation of our Arctic season currently planned for 13 June,” Bouysset.
That June 13 trip is a seven-night cruise around Spitsbergen, part of the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Prices start at $4,500 per person for a shared cabin and are being offered with a $1,000 travel credit.
For many, it will take a sense of adventure to book the first cruise back after the ship made headlines. For those people that do sail, they may take comfort that it’s thought the start of the outbreak did not come from the ship itself.
“The indications strongly suggest that the virus was introduced prior to embarkation and did not originate from the vessel itself,” the CEO’s statement said. “This is based on the medical and epidemiological information currently available, including guidance from WHO experts and relevant health authorities. Investigations remain ongoing regarding the exact location where the virus may have been contracted.”
“At this stage, there is no indication that the source of infection was linked to the vessel’s condition or to Oceanwide Expeditions’ onboard operations.”
