# Expedition cruise

> Small-capacity cruise format (~100 to 200 passengers) for remote or polar destinations (Antarctica, Arctic, South Atlantic). The format the MV Hondius belongs to.

Canonical source: https://hantatracker.fr/en/glossary/expedition-cruise/

**Aliases**: polar cruise, polar expedition, expedition voyage

An **expedition cruise** is a small-capacity cruise format (typically 100 to 200 passengers) for remote or polar destinations: Antarctica, the Arctic, the South Atlantic, the Amazon, the Galápagos. The **MV Hondius**, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, belongs to this category. The format is growing strongly (+71% passengers between 2019 and 2023) and has its own sectoral self-regulation rules (IAATO in Antarctica, AECO in the Arctic).

## Definition and characteristics

### Small capacity

Expedition cruises stand out first by the **size of the ships**: 100 to 200 passengers as a rule, sometimes fewer (50 to 80 on high-end expedition yachts), exceptionally more (up to 500). Compare with the 2,000 to 6,000 passengers of a classic Mediterranean or Caribbean cruise.

### Remote destinations

Itineraries target zones inaccessible to large ships:
- **Antarctica and sub-Antarctic islands** (South Georgia, South Sandwich, Falklands)
- **Arctic** (Svalbard, Greenland, Canadian North)
- **Remote South Atlantic** (Tristan da Cunha, Saint Helena, Ascension)
- **Amazon, Galápagos, Sepik, Raja Ampat** for tropical expeditions

The absence of port infrastructure requires landings by **Zodiac** or kayak.

### Expedition team

An **expedition team** of ten to twenty specialists accompanies passengers: naturalists, glaciologists, ornithologists, historians, photographers. They run a daily programme of landings, lectures and wildlife/flora observations.

## The market and its framework

### Sustained growth

Polar tourism is one of the most dynamic tourism segments:
- **+71%** expedition cruise passengers between 2019 and 2023
- **105,000 to 122,000** annual visitors to Antarctica
- **$3.55 billion** projected market size for polar tourism by 2034
- Roughly **one third** of the clientele is American

### Self-regulation: IAATO and AECO

The sector self-regulates through two associations:
- **IAATO** (*International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators*) — around 100 member operators. Flagship rule: **maximum 100 passengers** landed simultaneously on shore, anywhere in Antarctica.
- **AECO** (*Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators*) — the Arctic equivalent.

These rules, stricter than legal requirements, aim to protect fragile polar ecosystems while still allowing tourism.

### Legal framework

The **Polar Code** of the International Maritime Organization, adopted in 2014 and in force since 2017, sets the technical standards (hull, propulsion, crew training) for navigation in polar waters. The MV Hondius is certified *Polar Class 6*, the most demanding design class under the Polar Code for expedition ships.

## Relevance to the hantavirus episode

### Three converging factors

Several characteristics of the expedition cruise format explain the singularity of the MV Hondius episode:

1. **Itineraries in Andes virus endemic zones**: boarding in Ushuaia (Argentina), stopovers in Patagonia or South Georgia — areas where the reservoir rodent *Oligoryzomys longicaudatus* is present. Contamination of the first patients likely predates boarding.
2. **A shared small space over 40 days**: prolonged proximity in a confined environment makes secondary human-to-human transmission possible — a key factor for the only hantavirus capable of such transmission.
3. **Distance from hospital facilities**: the management of severe cases required medical evacuations from Saint Helena and a diversion to South Africa, delaying access to intensive care.

### Precedent

Before the MV Hondius, no hantavirus cluster aboard a ship at sea had been documented. This is the first time an Andes virus episode has simultaneously mobilised so many countries and health agencies (WHO, ECDC, CDC, national authorities of 10 countries).

## Further reading

- **[MV Hondius](/en/glossary/mv-hondius/)** — entry on the ship involved
- **[The ship](/en/ship/)** — itinerary and timeline of the episode
- **[Andes virus](/en/glossary/andes-virus/)** — the pathogen