Residents on Tenerife Island, Spain, are facing both worry and dissatisfaction after the MV Hondius cruise ship, which has a hantavirus outbreak onboard, is scheduled to dock this weekend.
The Spanish government disclosed that it has consulted with the World Health Organization (WHO) and allowed passengers to disembark in the Canary Islands after the ship arrived from Cape Verde, where three passengers had previously been evacuated due to illness.
Last Friday, several port workers in the Canary Islands gathered to protest outside the local parliament building in Santa Cruz, expressing concerns that the cruise ship's arrival could pose a public health risk to staff and residents. Protesters blew whistles, used vuvuzelas, and held signs demanding the government enhance protective measures.
Joana Batista, a representative of the port workers’ union, said employees are unhappy about having to work without adequate information or safety measures while a ship with infected individuals is about to dock.
She also stated that if the government does not implement appropriate measures, some workers might obstruct the cruise ship's docking.
Maria de la Luz Cedeno, who observed the protest, expressed dissatisfaction with the central government, viewing this as another burden on the Canary Islands. She linked this situation to the ongoing issue of large numbers of illegal immigrants arriving from North and West Africa over recent years.
Information from the NGO Caminando Fronteras indicates that over 3,000 people died in 2025 while attempting to reach the Canary Islands by small boats.
Meanwhile, Fernando Clavijo, president of the Canary Islands, has opposed accepting this cruise ship, but the central Spanish government continues with its original plan.
The Spanish government explained that the MV Hondius will not dock at Tenerife’s main port but will anchor offshore before transferring passengers to the industrial port of Granadilla on the island’s southeast, away from residential areas.
Afterward, passengers will be immediately repatriated, and the 14 Spaniards onboard will be taken to Madrid for quarantine. Authorities confirmed there will be no contact between passengers and the island’s residents, and the local population will be fully protected.
For many in the Canary Islands, this hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship recalls the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak in Spain, when German tourists on La Gomera Island were the country’s first confirmed cases, leading a Tenerife hotel to quarantine nearly 1,000 guests and staff.
The far-right Spanish party Vox has attempted to link the cruise ship issue to illegal immigration problems, while WHO and the Spanish government emphasize that this situation is clearly different from the COVID-19 pandemic.
. BBC
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