A complex device to shield the transfer of cruise passengers in the Canary Islands

BarcelonaAlmost the only unknown that remains to be known about the arrival operation of the luxury cruise ship MVHondius on the island of Tenerife is the time it will drop anchor to remain anchored until the Spanish authorities order the disembarkation. The good sea conditions have meant that the ship is making good progress and this Friday it was said that the vessel would arrive on Saturday afternoon and not Sunday morning, as had been planned. Despite this advancement, the night will be allowed to pass before the machinery is started to disembark the 151 people on board, counting 147 passengers and crew and four professionals who boarded in Cape Verde to assist them. For the moment, the toll of the outbreak remains at five confirmed infections, in addition to the three who have died, and the World Health Organization (WHO) is confident that no more passengers will test positive.

At the port of Granadilla de Abona, on the island of Tenerife, everything is ready to receive the ship without putting at risk the safety of the passengers or that of the professionals who will participate in the entire operation of evacuation from the ship, transfer to the port and airport and, in the case of the fourteen Spaniards, their diversion to the Central Defense Hospital Gómez Ulla, where they must undergo the mandatory quarantine. Although the Spanish authorities and the WHO insist on calls for calm due to the low transmissibility of hantavirus, the operation will test the coordination of health and logistics personnel, not only Spanish, but also of many of the twenty-three nationalities of the passengers.

Finally, the anchoring of the ship will be carried out in the location considered most secure within the waters of the Canary port by decision of the Port Authority and the Maritime Captaincy. Medics will travel to the interior of the ship to meticulously examine each of the travelers to rule out infections, as explained at a press conference by the Secretary General of Civil Protection and Emergency, Virginia Barcones.

The descent of passengers to go to the port will be done in small zodiac-type boats. But it will be an almost surgical operation, coordinated with ground personnel, since the evacuations will "only" be carried out when the planes that are to take foreign passengers to their countries of origin are ready to take off. In the case of the Spaniards, they will fly to Madrid. The objective is that the entire operation "lasts as little time as possible" to reduce risks, in the words of the Secretary of State for Health, Javier Padilla.

The fourteen Spaniards, who are in good spirits and without symptoms, will arrive at the Torrejón de Ardoz military base aboard a conventional plane, but exclusive for their use. They are people who are not sick, Barcones clarified, and therefore do not need special care, although the operation includes medically equipped planes in case, at the last minute, any of them tests positive or presents symptoms.

By nationality

The rest of the passengers will be grouped by nationality and, in small groups, will disembark when confirmation of the take-off permit is received. The first to leave will be the North American passengers, because their plane is the first to arrive at the facilities. France, Greece, Turkey, and the Netherlands will send their own planes to take their citizens home, while Belgium, Germany, Ireland, and Sweden will have to resort to the European coordination mechanism because, although they have shown their willingness to take charge of the transfer of their citizens, they do not have air transport available, Barcones indicated.

As the ship is Dutch-flagged, the Netherlands has already shown its willingness to take charge of the repatriation operation of non-EU passengers, in the same way as the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom.

In an effort to calm spirits and fears of possible contagion, Barcones assured that "there is no possibility of interaction" between the passengers and the Canarian population because the entire road journey has been "isolated" and it will not be possible for anyone not authorized to approach the group. For the professionals who will participate in the entire operation, there will be all protection and security systems with the "highest standards".

Once the ship is empty, it will continue to its port of origin in the Netherlands with about thirty crew members, half of the staff, who are the ones needed to operate the cruise ship. The cost of the passenger disembarkation operation and the transfer from the port to Tenerife airport will be borne by the shipowner, and the transfer operation of the fourteen Spaniards to the Central Defense Hospital Gómez Ulla will be assumed by the Ministry of Defense, Padilla announced.