Filipino crew members of virus-stricken cruise ship arrive in Netherlands
Passengers are disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Four Filipino crew members of MV Hondius, a cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak, have arrived in Eindhoven, Netherlands, the Philippine Embassy in The Hague said.
According to the embassy, the Filipino crew members arrived in Eindhoven on Sunday night.
They are the crew members of MV Hondius who were on the flight arranged by the Netherlands government from Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands.
The Filipino crew members will undergo a six-week quarantine as prescribed by World Health Organization protocols. The embassy said the Netherlands Government has arranged facilities for their quarantine.
A second batch consisting of 17 crew members will be on the next evacuation flight expected to leave Monday from Tenerife to the Netherlands, the embassy further said.
The remaining crew members, who are regular deck and engine crew, will sail the vessel from Tenerife to Rotterdam, Netherlands and will also undergo the six-week quarantine.
After completing their respective quarantines, the Philippine local manning agency shall arrange the crew members' repatriation flight to the Philippines, the embassy said.
"In coordination with the Migrant Workers Office in Berlin, the Embassy continues to closely monitor the situation of the Filipino crew members while in quarantine," the embassy said.
It added that it has also requested to visit the crew members in quarantine at the soonest time possible while strictly observing health protocols.