Who and how will the repatriations of the passengers from the hantavirus cruise be carried out?

BarcelonaHealth and emergency authorities are working against the clock to prepare for the arrival of the MV Hondius this weekend in the Canary Islands. The luxury cruise ship, the focus of the hantavirus outbreak, will anchor in the port of La Granadilla, in Tenerife, and from there passengers and crew will be transported to their countries. In fact, the Spanish government has assured that no one will disembark without first having confirmation that their plane is ready to take off. On board are passengers and crew of 23 different nationalities, from inside and outside the European Union, and since Thursday meetings have been taking place to also organize repatriations.

Who will collect the affected people?

The most common situation when someone needs to be repatriated is that their travel insurance covers it or, if they don't have one, they cover it themselves. But the situation of the MV Hondius is "exceptional" and that is why states are taking care of it even though "there is no legal obligation to do so," explains the professor of administrative law at the University of Girona (UdG) Josep Maria Aguirre. The specialist adds that the Netherlands would also not be obliged to do so, even if the ship flies their flag.

However, the professor of public international law at the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) Alfonso González Bondia clarifies that Spain has agreed to receive the ship based on the regulations of the World Health Organization (WHO), and assures that this agency could also call on other states to cooperate. "They do not have the obligation, but normally all states, through their consular offices and in accordance with international treaties and the internal regulations of each country, usually assume the obligation to help their nationals abroad in emergency situations," explains the researcher.

So far, five European countries have confirmed they will activate planes to collect their citizens. These are Germany (with 8 nationals on board), France (5), Greece (1), the Netherlands (11), and Turkey (3), which is not an EU member but is part of the European Civil Protection mechanism activated for this emergency. The United States (with 17 affected individuals) and Great Britain (23) will also send a plane. In contrast, Belgium, Ireland, Germany, and Switzerland have stated they are willing to host their affected citizens but do not have planes available for evacuation and could do so through the European mechanism or the Netherlands, which is the flag country of the cruise and is willing to take charge if necessary.

Who will bear the cost?

This Wednesday, sources from the central government collected by Efe indicated that the cost would fall on the countries of origin of those affected, but previously they had indicated that both the transfer and the care of infected people "would be fully covered by insurers or their countries of origin". The same sources added at that time that for the rest of the people "a joint EU evacuation mechanism would be activated, with 25% paid by the facilitating country and 75% by the EU". However, two days later, government sources told the ARA that the details are still being finalized.

Bondia recalls that passengers are not obliged to have insurance, although given the type of trip they were taking, it is most likely that they did. In any case, he explains that if a state dedicates a plane to a repatriation, it may be that according to the laws of each country, the administration itself will assume the cost or that it will subsequently claim it from the affected person or their insurance. "There is no international regulation stating that the state must assume it. It is internal regulation for each case," he summarizes.

Will there be differences between passengers and crew?

The main difference between one and the other is that for the crew members a possible contagion is a work accident, says Aguirre. "The shipping company, even if it is not the cause of the illness, has an added responsibility towards its workers," he adds.

What role will insurance play?

On the other hand, the professor of commercial law at URV, Pablo Girgado, assumes that the states will be the ones to cover all expenses. However, he explains that in this case, any compensation from the insurance would not be for the affected parties, but for the state, which would have to claim it through its legal services. In his opinion, the entity responsible for the expenses should be the shipping company or its insurer.

What will happen to the ship now?

The Ministry of Health has explained that the Netherlands, being the flag state of the ship, is the one that can decide "what to do with the ship and the crew". For its part, the Spanish government maintains that the cruise ship should continue to its destination port with the entire crew.