The news today is good news. After months of worry and uncertainty, strict inspections, quarantining, and extensive decontamination of the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius, the ship has now been cleared to resume operations. Customers that have upcoming voyages will continue to have their voyages operate without any additional disruption.
The news represents the end to Oceanwide Expeditions most difficult chapter in history. Prior to receiving the letter of approval, the MV Hondius had become involved in an international health emergency that made news all over the world and had a significant impact on, and drew attention to, the cruise industry.
Health authorities from the Netherlands performed an inspection at the end of May and provided confirmation that all health requirements for sanitation had been adequately completed. Infection prevention specialists have also conducted a determined that the decontamination was acceptable according to established health standards. This allowed health department authorities to lift their restriction on the ship from operating.
What makes this event unique is that it transpired extremely rapidly; a few short weeks before the same ship had been involved in a lethal plague that occurred crossing the Atlantic.
Passengers and crew found themselves in a health emergency at sea with very few resources and far from land.
Medical records issued in the investigation show that a number of people contracted Hantavirus on board the ship, an illness that is transmitted by rodents and their excretion. The outbreak caused multiple deaths and many confirmed cases of infection, causing a shift from an expedition voyage to a full-scale emergency response.
Hantavirus is a rodent-transmitted disease that can be contracted from inhaling contaminated aerosolized droplets from a rodents saliva, urine, or feces. The challenge with Hantavirus is that symptoms do not always develop shortly after infection, in some cases symptoms are experienced weeks after contact with an infected rodent.
At first, people infected with the virus may develop symptoms resembling a very bad flu such as fever, chills and significant muscle pain; as a result, it becomes critical for health officials to continue monitoring anyone who may have had exposure to the virus throughout containment operations due to the potential for early signs of infection to mimic other illnesses.
Before the ship was allowed to accept passengers again, local authorities ordered extensive clean-up operations. In addition, new cleaning and disinfection procedures were implemented, and the ship was monitored closely by public health professionals who evaluated every facet of the response related to the health and safety of passengers and crew.
There were many difficulties on the human level as well. Some members of the crew who had previously been working on board the affected vessel were sent home, while others were placed on health monitoring protocols. The captain of the ship was transported back home by way of special medical accommodations, and several employees remained isolated until cleared after evaluation.
Authorities in the Dutch and UK public health systems did not limit their response to addressing the health and safety of passengers and crew who were on board the ship. Public health agencies in the UK became involved due to passengers who had been on board the affected voyage returning to the UK after their voyage. Passengers who were deemed to be at risk of exposure to virus were monitored and quarantined to reduce the potential that it could be transmitted throughout the entire community.
Health authorities monitored individuals who were in contact with the virus and had the potential to infect other people. The people who were in close contact with the virus were placed in isolation until they were either found to have the virus or had to leave for medical treatment.
During this time, MV Hondius was being monitored by several agencies and underwent multiple rounds of inspections until the government declared MV Hondius clear of the virus and did not present any unusual health risks to future passengers.
MV Hondius will now be able to perform its intended function: Provide expedition cruise services to some of the most remote places in the world.
The virus outbreak incident will always remain a huge chapter in the ships story, but because of the successful decontamination of the ship and implementation of extensive public health guidelines, future travelers aboard MV Hondius will not be as concerned about their health and will return to their primary focus of adventure and exploration again.
