The disembarkation of passengers from the MV Hondius in Tenerife has become this Sunday one of the largest coordinated health and logistical operations in Spain since the pandemic. Under a huge security deployment, medical teams, military personnel, and specialized staff have participated in an operation designed to evacuate dozens of passengers from the cruise ship affected by the hantavirus outbreak without contact with the population.
From early in the morning, the port of Granadilla de Abona was completely secured. Agents of the Civil Guard, members of the Military Emergencies Unit (UME), health personnel from Foreign Health and personnel from the WHO coordinated a device marked by isolation protocols, protective equipment, and constant surveillance.
The anchored boat and a completely isolated runner
The cruise ship arrived in Canary Islands waters around 06:30. From that moment, the final medical evaluation of passengers and crew began to check that they remained asymptomatic before authorizing disembarkation.
The authorities set up a fully closed corridor between the pier and the Tenerife Sur airport. The objective was clear: to avoid any contact between passengers and the outside and to speed up international repatriation. The evacuees left the ship in small groups on auxiliary boats and were transferred directly to dry land. There, UME buses escorted by the Guardia Civil awaited them.
Masks, overalls, and sealed bags
The image of the operation inevitably recalled the worst moments of covid. The passengers disembarked protected with FFP2 masks, blue raincoats, and closed white bags where they carried only basic belongings. Meanwhile, health workers and support staff worked equipped with full PPE and following maximum biological safety protocols.
The entire process was recorded by dozens of cameras and closely followed by national and international media, in an operation that the Government also wanted to turn into a demonstration of logistical capacity and health coordination.
The Spanish, the first evacuated
The first to abandon ship were the 14 Spaniards who remained on board the Hondius. After being transferred by bus to the airport, they boarded a medicalized Air Force plane bound for Madrid. The aircraft subsequently landed at the Torrejón de Ardoz air base and the passengers were transferred to the Gómez Ulla Hospital, where they will remain in quarantine and under medical observation.
After them, the evacuations of the rest of the nationalities began: Netherlands, France, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Turkey, or United States, among other countries involved in the international operation.
The WHO and the Government defend the device
Throughout the day, both the Government and the World Health Organization insisted that the risk to the general population was "very low".
The Minister of Health, Mónica García, assured that the operation had been a “success” and highlighted that all passengers remained asymptomatic. In the same vein, WHO officials defended that the operation was “very organized” and specifically designed to minimize any health impact in Tenerife.
The operation has also been marked by the political clash between the central Government and the Canary Executive after Fernando Clavijo tried to prevent the anchoring of the ship in Tenerife, alleging a lack of health guarantees. Finally, the Merchant Navy authorized the entry of the vessel and the operation proceeded under state and international coordination.