MV Hondius

Hondius is an expedition ship which is currently involved in a hantavirus outbreak in 2026.

Hondius is 107.6 metres (353 ft 0 in) long, with a beam of 17.6 metres (57 ft 9 in) and a depth of 5.7 metres (18 ft 8 in). She is powered by two ABC 12-cylinder diesel engines, each driving a screw propeller. The engines are rated at a total of 4,260 kilowatts (5,710 hp). They propel the ship at 15 knots (28 km/h).

She is assessed at 6,603 GRT, 2,057 NRT, 1,154 DWT. Accommodation for 196 passengers is provided. She has a crew of 72.

Hondius was built as yard number 484 by Brodosplit, Split, Croatia. Her keel was laid on 11 December 2017. She was launched on 10 June 2018 and delivered on 22 May 2019. She is allocated the IMO Number 9818709 and MMSI Number 244327000. Her callsign is PZEP. Built for Oceanwide Expeditions, her port of registry is Vlissingen, Zeeland, Netherlands. She is named after Jodocus Hondius, a 17th-century cartographer.

Hondius made her maiden voyage on 3 June 2019, departing from Vlissingen for Jan Mayen and Spitzbergen.

In April 2026, an outbreak of hantavirus on board Hondius killed three people and left another seriously ill. Thereafter, the ship was placed under isolation. She put in to the Cape Verde Islands in early May.