14 hours ago

Guy HedgecoeTenerife

As the MV Hondius cruise liner draws closer to Tenerife, islanders on this Spanish territory brace for its arrival with unease and, for many, considerable frustration.

Spain's national government, working alongside the World Health Organization (WHO), has authorized passengers from the ship - hit by a hantavirus outbreak - to disembark over the weekend. The vessel came from Cape Verde after three people fell ill and were taken off.

Tenerife port employees rallied Friday outside the Canary Islands parliament in Santa Cruz, raising alarms that the ship's pending docking might threaten their well-being.

Protesters sounded whistles, blared vuvuzelas, and waved placards.

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"We object to operating in a port without enhanced safety protocols or clear guidance as an infected vessel nears," explained Joana Batista, representing a port workers' union and joining the action.

A number of her fellow workers have warned they will halt the ship's entry unless their requests are addressed.

"The ship can dock if needed, but only with adequate precautions," she noted. "Residents deserve details on local impacts and passenger movements. Reassurance is key."

Onlooker María de la Luz Sedeño, a nutritionist, endorsed the protesters' calls and struggled to mask her intense anger.

"This tops off all the hardships imposed on Canary Islanders," she declared - likely nodding to the steady stream of undocumented migrants arriving by sea from North and West Africa.

While some locals take pride in supporting migrants, others like Sedeño view it as a major irritant.

All, however, acknowledge how migration casts their region into a worldwide saga.

NGO Caminando Fronteras reports over 3,000 deaths in 2025 among those risking the journey to the Canaries in precarious vessels. Pope Leo XIV is scheduled for a June visit to engage with migrants and support groups.

Sedeño highlighted Madrid's override of fierce resistance from Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo against allowing the ship to dock.

"Locals' voices are ignored."

The Socialist-led central administration has rebutted charges of overreach and opacity by sharing logistics for the weekend operation.

Rather than berthing in central Tenerife, the ship will remain at anchor offshore, transferring passengers via ferries to the expansive Granadilla industrial harbor in the island's southeast, far from populated zones. They face swift repatriation, or for the 14 Spanish nationals, transfer to Madrid for quarantine.

Officials stress no exposure for locals, who "stand fully protected," stated Virginia Barcones, director of Spain's civil protection unit.

Such steps have eased concerns for certain residents.

"More details have settled me somewhat," shared retiree Marialaina Retina Fernández, who hails local medical resources as exceptional. She conveys a sense of reluctant acceptance toward the temporary presence.

"Having them here isn't preferable," she elaborated. "Yet if authorities commit to every precaution against spread, fingers crossed it succeeds."

The arrival bears Madrid's approval, but far-right Vox party aims to leverage it politically, equating it to unauthorized migrant inflows.

WHO and Spanish leaders downplay any likeness to the Covid crisis epidemiologically. Nonetheless, the international passenger ship revives painful early-Covid echoes for Canarians: Spain's initial case involved a German visitor on La Gomera, prompting the lockdown of roughly 1,000 at a Tenerife resort.

Retina Fernández frames the islands' frequent crisis spotlight optimistically.

"All kinds of troubles wash up here routinely," she observed. "It proves our skill in navigating them."