When Oceanwide Expeditions’ Hondius departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on 1 April 2026, guests were looking forward to the icy landscapes and wildlife encounters of an Antarctic cruise. But days later, they were confined to their cabins as a life-threatening strain of hantavirus began circulating onboard the ship. While international media outlets began speculating about the potential of a worldwide pandemic, Oceanwide Expeditions’ CEO Rémi Bouysset had one priority: to get the guests, crew and ship back home safely.
“Initially, it seemed like an isolated medical incident but as soon as we confirmed it was hantavirus, we escalated our onboard response to our highest-level emergency protocols to contain the spread,” he says. “It was a life-or-death situation and we had to get it right, so our crisis team quickly sought advice from the World Health Organization (WHO), public health authorities and other medical and biosecurity experts.”
Oceanwide Expeditions rapidly implemented a three-phase action plan.
“Our first priority was to evacuate critically ill patients to Cape Verde for urgent care,” says Bouysset, noting that additional medical staff boarded the ship while it was in port to assist crew. “During the second phase, we focused on disembarking all remaining guests and two-thirds of the crew in the Canary Islands, so they could be screened, quarantined and safely repatriated. We had a significant number of guests and crew members of diverse nationalities onboard, so we coordinated with multiple governments, embassies, ports, maritime regulators and aviation partners to manage the complex logistics.”
Once this stage was complete, a skeleton crew sailed the vessel to the Netherlands for extensive cleaning before it could resume operations in the Arctic with a new onboard team.
“The crew was screened and quarantined, while a team of 13 biosecurity experts from EWS Group spent days systematically cleaning and sanitising the entire ship with specialist products,” says Bouysset. “The team disinfected everything from the decks to the curtains – Hondius is probably the cleanest vessel on Earth now. Following a full assessment on 30 May, the Dutch health authority confirmed Hondius could resume operations and we’ve been sailing safely ever since.”
Throughout the incident, Oceanwide Expeditions was under immense worldwide scrutiny.
“Our main concern was to regularly communicate with those onboard the ships, as well as their families and authorities, but we also had calls from over 600 journalists,” recalls Bouysset. “We wanted to avoid speculation and prevent panic, so we only shared verified information via daily press releases. It was a difficult time, but we focused on protecting people, not our reputation.”
Now Hondius has safely resumed sailing, Bouysset has been able to reflect on how Oceanwide Expeditions handled the incident.
“It was a very rare situation, resulting in three people tragically losing their lives, several others being hospitalised and everyone else being quarantined,” he says. “I’m extremely proud of the way the entire company responded to the crisis – everyone remained empathetic and professional under tremendous pressure. I’m particularly grateful to our onboard teams who were dedicated to helping our guests, despite the risk to their own lives.”
Oceanwide Expeditions’ CEO Rémi Bouysset
Evaluating the event with his team has also allowed Bouysset to identify opportunities for improvement.
“The biggest lesson is that the unexpected can sometimes happen and if it does, we must be able to act quickly,” he says. “It’s vital for cruise operators to have a solid crisis management strategy in place. We’re updating our procedures and evaluating evacuation processes.”
Oceanwide Expeditions is also enhancing pre-cruise screening protocols. “Healthcare authorities confirmed hantavirus originated onshore and was unintentionally brought onboard the ship by a guest,” says Bouysset. “There isn’t a reliable test for hantavirus, so we’ll gather more information about guests’ recent travel and illnesses before boarding. Multiple cruise lines will be sailing from South America to Antarctica later this year, so the industry must work with local authorities to minimise the risk of this happening again.”
While the incident has inevitably raised concerns among travellers, Bouysset points to Oceanwide Expeditions’ more than 30 years of polar operations as evidence that the company can manage challenging environments. This experience, he says, enables it to sail in some of the world’s most remote regions while maintaining high safety standards.
“We dare to go where others don’t,” says Bouysset. “Our ship Ortelius set a world record in February 2025 when it went further south in the Weddell Sea than any other non-icebreaker vessel – and it broke its own record in February 2026. In January 2027, we’ll be the first cruise line to sail into the Bellingshausen Sea.”
Bouysset points to Oceanwide Expeditions’ more than 30 years of polar operations as evidence that the company can manage challenging environments (Photo: Katjena Cabenda)
Every itinerary includes multiple opportunities to enjoy unique experiences. “Creating unforgettable expedition experiences is our priority – if we spot a pod of belugas during dinner, we’ll stop everything and even turn the ship around to give our guests a closer look,” says Bouysset. “We’ve pioneered various exciting activities, including snorkelling amongst icebergs.”
Facing high guest demand, Oceanwide Expeditions will soon build two 146-guest ships. They will use the DynaRig hybrid sail propulsion system and other environmental technologies to cut fuel consumption and emissions. “We’re finalising contracts with the shipyard and other partners and expect them to launch in 2029 and 2030,” says Bouysset.
“We’re excited to take guests to new places no one has ever sailed before on our most eco-conscious vessels yet.”
Discover more insights from experts across the passenger shipping industry in the Autumn/Winter 2026 issue of Cruise & Ferry Review. To get content like this on a regular basis, subscribe to the print editions or free digital editions of our Cruise & Ferry publications.