THE HAGUE, May 7 — A total of 30 passengers left the hantavirus-stricken Hondius on April 24 during its call at the remote British island of Saint Helena, the cruise ship’s Dutch operator said today.
“Thirty guests disembarked MV Hondius on Saint Helena on April 24, 2026. This number includes the body of the guest who passed away on board MV Hondius on April 11,” Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement.
The company added that all people who left the ship had been contacted.
The operator said that on April 1, a total of 114 guests boarded the vessel before it left Ushuaia in Argentina for the cruise across the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Verde.
“We are working to establish details of all passengers and crew who embarked and disembarked on various stops of MV Hondius since March 20,” it added.
‘Crisis’ on Saint Helena
Saint Helena is home to a close-knit community of around 4,400 people. The cruise ship called at the South Atlantic island from April 22 to 24.
“We are all by now aware of the challenge we face,” Saint Helena’s Governor Nigel Phillips said in a statement.
“We are now responding to a crisis none of us would have wished,” King Charles III’s representative in the territory said.
The Saint Helena government meanwhile said there were currently “no suspected or confirmed cases of hantavirus on the island”, and the risk to the public remained low.
“The situation on St Helena remains stable and controlled.”
It said that as a precautionary measure, the local health authorities were monitoring a small number of individuals identified as higher-risk contacts — namely “those who had close, prolonged contact with the unwell passengers of the vessel”.
They have been advised to isolate at home, for a period of “45 days from the last known exposure to the virus”.
“This means that the period of isolation will end on June 9 subject to any developments in the situation in St Helena.”
It added that there was no risk to the public from the deceased Dutch passenger whose remains were brought ashore on April 23.
Saint Helena has a weekly air link with Johannesburg, with a flight leaving on April 25.
One Hondius passenger on that flight died in hospital in South Africa, while a British patient from the ship is in hospital in Johannesburg. Both tested positive for hantavirus. — AFP
Governor warns of ‘crisis’ as operator says 30 passengers disembarked hantavirus‑hit cruise ship in Saint Helena last week
