A guest who remains stuck on MV Hondius has claimed that social distancing has only been in place since Monday, with staff organising a ‘big barbecue as if nothing had happened’
Workers on board the doomed Hantavirus-infected cruise ship ‘organised a huge barbecue as if nothing had happened’, a passenger who remains stuck on the vessel has claimed.
So far, three guests on MV Hondius have now died after the suspected deadly outbreak. One Brit is still in intensive care in South Africa where he tested positive for the virus while another, 56-year-old retired police officer Martin Anstee, is in a stable condition in a hospital in the Netherlands.
Five cases of hantavirus have now been confirmed, the World Health Organization have announced. So far, eight cases have officially been reported. Health authorities are racing to track down dozens of people who disembarked on St Helena in the South Atlantic.
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The luxury ship is now heading to the Canary Islands, where it’s expected to dock this weekend. A French passenger has spoken saying their concerns are growing by the day but confirmed guests are not locked down in their state rooms – although mask-wearing is being enforced.
“People are not panicking, but you can feel that it is starting to weigh on you, especially since we don’t know where we are going,” she told BFM TV. “We all eat together at the restaurant. There’s social distancing, but it’s only been in place for three days; we eat seated in a staggered pattern.
“There was a big barbecue on the boat, as if nothing had happened. After that, we do what we want on the boat.” The British passengers on board will likely be told to self-isolate for 45 days on returning, health official have said.
Seven holidaymakers are among 30 passengers who left the stricken vessel after a Dutch man died with his wife later testing positive for hantavirus and dying herself.
In a statement released by Oceanwide Expeditions on Thursday morning, they said the ship left Cape Verde at 7.15pm on Wednesday and is sailing for Granadilla in Tenerife. The statement said: “This is expected to take 3-4 days. No symptomatic individuals are present on board. Oceanwide Expeditions remains in close and continual discussion with relevant authorities regarding our exact point of arrival, quarantine and screening procedures for all guests, and a precise timeline.”
The ship owners confirmed there were 114 guests who boarded in Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1 with 30 guests disembarking on Saint Helena on April 24. They said: “This number includes the body of the guest who passed away on board m/v Hondius on 11 April 2026.
“The first confirmed case of hantavirus was not reported until 4 May 2026. These disembarked guests have all been contacted by Oceanwide Expeditions. We are working to establish details of all passengers and crew who embarked and disembarked on various stops of m/v Hondius since March 20.”
Mr Anstee’s wife, Nicola, told the Daily Telegraph, it had been “a very dramatic few days” but he is recovering. She said: “He’s relieved to be off the ship. He had it quite mild then it got a bit more serious and now he’s stable again.
“The fear with this virus is it can deteriorate very quickly so it’s been a bit up and down for him. I don’t believe he’s in imminent danger now but it was horrible.”
Today it was revealed that a man who was not on board the hantavirus-stricken cruise liner – but shared a flight with someone who was – is said to have contracted the deadly disease as health officials closely monitor him.
The unnamed passenger, from France, is being monitored as a close contact case after reportedly developing signs of the rat-borne illness. He had boarded the same flight as an infected Dutch passenger who left the MV Hondius after having gastric symptoms, but did not know she was infected at the time.
