The hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius was due to dock in Rotterdam on Monday morning (May 18) for disinfection, with Dutch authorities preparing quarantine arrangements for the 25 crew members and two medical staff remaining on board.

Screen recordings from ship tracking site MarineTraffic showed the route forecast of the MV Hondius at 0630 GMT as it makes its way to Rotterdam, with the Dutch port serving as the vessel's final destination. The vessel, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, is expected to arrive between 10 a.m. and noon local time (0800-1000 GMT), though that is subject to change, according to the company.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

1. VARIOUS SCREEN RECORDINGS SHOWING ROUTE FORECAST OF MV HONDIUS AT APPROXIMATELY 0630 GMT ON MAY 18, 2026 AS IT APPROACHES ROTTERDAM

A luxury liner at the centre of an outbreak of hantavirus reached the Dutch port of Rotterdam on Monday (May 18), where authorities prepared quarantine arrangements for the 23 crew and two medical staff remaining on board.

Local port authorities said quarantine facilities had been set up for some of the non-Dutch crew, though it was unclear if they would stay there for the full recommended 42-day quarantine period. The vessel itself was to undergo disinfection.

(1412-CRUISESHIP-HANTAVIRUS/ARRIVAL / 1428-CRUISESHIP-HANTAVIRUS/ARRIVAL / 1437-CRUISESHIP-HANTAVIRUS/ARRIVAL-UPDATE / 1460-CRUISESHIP-HANTAVIRUS/ARRIVAL-MORE)

ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS (MAY 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

2. VIRUS-HIT CRUISE SHIP HONDIUS ARRIVING AT ROTTERDAM PORT

3. (MUTE) DRONE FOOTAGE SHOWING HONDIUS ARRIVING

4. HONDIUS APPROACHING PORT

5. SHIP ARRIVING/ NAME ON SHIP

6. PASSENGER WALKING ON DECK

7. VARIOUS OF HONDIUS APPROACHING PORT

8. PASSENGERS ON SHIP'S DECK

9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF GGD ROTTERDAM-RIJNMOND (MUNICIPAL HEALTH SERVICE), YVONNES VAN DUIJNHOVEN, SAYING:

"We have a doctor and a nurse on board from the Netherlands. They have taken blood samples and as soon as the vessel arrives in the Rotterdam port, the first test material will go to the lab for testing. But this afternoon we will immediately take another sample of blood to be tested in the laboratory, and this result will be there the next day. We do not know yet the results, but they have already taken samples."

10. HONDIUS APPROACHING PORT

11. COMMAND BRIDGE OF HONDIUS

12. PASSENGERS ON SHIP'S DECK

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF GGD ROTTERDAM-RIJNMOND (MUNICIPAL HEALTH SERVICE), YVONNES VAN DUIJNHOVEN, SAYING:

"Currently, all the crew members aboard, there are still 25 people aboard, and this nurse and the doctor, and they all are free of any symptoms. So of course they are very tired. They had, of course, a lot of very impactful periods. So they are especially tired, but they don't have any symptoms that are compatible with the hantavirus."

14. HONDIUS ARRIVING / PEOPLE SEEN AT PORT WHERE MOBILE HOME UNITS WHERE CREW NOT FROM THE NETHERLANDS WILL BE IN QUARANTINE

15. PEOPLE SEEN AT PORT NEAR MOBILE HOME UNITS

16. VARIOUS OF HONDIUS DOCKING

17. CREW WEARING FACE MASKS WORKING ON DECK

18. VARIOUS OF SHIP DOCKING AND BOATS ASSISTING

19. CREW LOADING EQUIPMENT ONTO SHIP

The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius cruise is to be disinfected. It had been carrying around 150 passengers and crew from ⁠23 countries when a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses was first reported to the World Health Organization on May 2.

Three people have died. The bodies of a Dutch couple have been repatriated, while a German victim was to be cremated in the Netherlands with her ashes then sent home.

"The ship has arrived under controlled conditions, and all people will be medically monitored. So there's no risk of further spread," said Tjalling Leenstra, head of the Netherlands' National Coordination Centre for Communicable Disease Control.

(1459-CRUISESHIP-HANTAVIRUS/NETHERLANDS-DOCKING)

ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS (MAY 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

20. (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF THE NATIONAL COORDINATION CENTRE FOR COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROL AT THE NETHERLANDS' PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY, TJALLING LEENSTRA, SAYING:

"So the next couple of weeks, they will be going into medical monitoring. That means that there's a daily check of their medical situation by the public health service, and this will be done in quarantine because if they develop illness, they are infectious, and we want to prevent any further spread."

21. LETTERING ON SIDE OF SHIP READING: "HONDIUS" / WINDOWS OF SHIP

22. (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF THE NATIONAL COORDINATION CENTRE FOR COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROL AT THE NETHERLANDS' PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY, TJALLING LEENSTRA, SAYING:

"Until now, all passengers have gone off board, besides the two that were ill, that were medically evacuated. We have had none that have developed illness due to hantavirus. Some developed some symptoms, but they were tested, and they tested negative."

23. VARIOUS OF HONDIUS DOCKING AT ROTTERDAM PORT

24. (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF THE NATIONAL COORDINATION CENTRE FOR COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROL AT THE NETHERLANDS' PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY, TJALLING LEENSTRA, SAYING:

"But as you have seen, the ship is arriving under controlled conditions, and all people will be medically monitored and quarantined in proper situations. So there's no risk of further spread."

25. HONDIUS DOCKING AT ROTTERDAM PORT

26. MOBILE HOME UNITS WHERE CREW NOT FROM THE NETHERLANDS WILL BE IN QUARANTINE