Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship docks in Netherlands for disinfection

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — The cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak has docked at the Dutch port of Rotterdam for disinfection, wrapping up a troubled journey that put international health authorities on alert.

The MV Hondius was still carrying 25 crew members and two medical personnel as it reached Europe's largest port on Monday morning, after its passengers disembarked on the Spanish island of Tenerife last week.

An Associated Press journalist saw people board the boat from a pier wearing white hazardous materials suits.

A short distance from where the ship docked, authorities had set up white containers along the water, in between a line of windmills.

The crew will now go into quarantine, with those who cannot be immediately repatriated spending their time in quarantine in these containers. “Luckily so far the crew has suffered no symptoms,” Yvonne van Duijnhoven, the director of public health in Rotterdam told The Associated Press.

Crew members will be tested upon arrival and then weekly for the duration of their quarantine.

After everyone on board has disembarked, the