One of the last cruises at sea now has just 8 passengers left after 4 died of the coronavirus and hundreds abandoned ship. Here's how a 140-day world tour turned to disaster.

Sophia AnkelApr 24, 2020, 22:50 IST

The MV Artania is seen with "Thank You Fremantle" banners and Australian flags at the Fremantle Passenger Terminal in Australia on March 28, 2020.Paul Kane/Getty Images

The MV Artania is one of the last cruise ships still at sea today, and is traveling back to Germany with just eight passengers and 75 crew members.
During its 140-day journey around the world, the German ship was forced to quarantine in Fremantle, Western Australia, after it reported several cases of coronavirus onboard.
While hundreds of healthy passengers were allowed to leave the ship to fly back home, several others had to stay on board.
Three passengers and one crew member have died from the coronavirus after being taken to local hospitals.
The ship is expected to stop in Indonesia and the Philippines to drop off crew members who are from there, before returning to Germany. The return leg will be more than a month long.
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A German cruise ship is currently on its way home with only eight guests and 75 crew members after four passengers died from the coronavirus and hundreds more were forced to evacuate.

It is one of the last cruise ships in the world still at sea.

The eight-deck MV Artania embarked on its 140-day world cruise on December 21, 2019 — when China was discovering the world's first coronavirus cases — but was quarantined in Fremantle, Western Australia, in mid-March after several coronavirus cases were found on board.

Three passengers and one 42-year-old crew member who were on the ship have since died. The crew member was the youngest person to die in Australia.

Scroll down to see how disaster unfolded on the German cruise ship and where it is now.

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This journey as been a sad one. As of Friday, four people from the ship have since died from the coronavirus.

The MV Artania is seen with "Thank You Fremantle" banners and Australian flags positioned on the side of the vessel at the Fremantle Passenger Terminal on March 28, 2020. Paul Kane/Getty Images

The trip back to Germany will be a long one — the cruise's operator says it will arrive in its home port of Bremerhaven on May 31, which is more than five weeks away.

Bremerhaven port. Fabian Bimmer/Reuters

The trip back to Germany will be a long one — the cruise's operator says it will arrive in its home port of Bremerhaven on May 31, which is more than five weeks away.

It now plans to drop by the Philippines to let more crew members disembark before returning to Germany.

Google Maps

The ship sailed to Jakarta, Indonesia, on April 24 to drop off crew members from the country. This left eight passengers and 75 crew members on board.

Map showing the MV Artania's location on April 24, 2020. Google Maps

The German captain, Morten Hanson, left a video message on Twitter, thanking the authorities and medical teams for assisting the cruise ship as it battled the outbreak.

On April 16, the ship — which now had eight passengers on board and hundreds of crew members — left Fremantle. Groups of people gathered to bid them farewell from the Australian mainland.

Residents in apartments opposite the Fremantle Passenger Terminal are seen with a banner with a message to the passengers and crew of the MV Artania saying "Travel Safe" on March 28, 2020. Paul Kane/Getty Images

On April 16, the ship — which now had eight passengers on board and hundreds of crew members — left Fremantle. Groups of people gathered to bid them farewell from the Australian mainland.

Another standoff between the ship and local authorities ensued on April 1, when the MV Artania refused to follow orders to leave the port and asked to stay another 14 days. They were eventually allowed.

The MV Artania at the Fremantle Passenger Terminal on March 27, 2020. Paul Kane/Getty Images

Another standoff between the ship and local authorities ensued on April 1, when the MV Artania refused to follow orders to leave the port and asked to stay another 14 days. They were eventually allowed.

But some of those who tested positive and were showing milder symptoms of the virus were still quarantined on the ship. At this point, 12 passengers and 450 crew members were left on board.

Passengers from the Artania cruise ship are transported from the Fremantle Passenger Terminal to Perth International airport on March 29, 2020. Paul Kane/Getty Images

But some of those who tested positive and were showing milder symptoms of the virus were still quarantined on the ship. At this point, 12 passengers and 450 crew members were left on board.

In the following days, Australian authorities allowed anyone who was still healthy — 832 passengers at this point — to fly home from the nearby Perth airport on a chartered aircraft.

Passengers from MV Artania are transferred with a police escort to Perth International Airport on March 29, 2020. Paul Kane/Getty Images

In the following days, Australian authorities allowed anyone who was still healthy — 832 passengers at this point — to fly home from the nearby Perth airport on a chartered aircraft.

But on March 27, the ship was allowed to dock under the condition it would quarantine for two weeks. One day later, 46 passengers started showing symptoms, with Western Australia's state premier saying the situation had reached a "crisis point."

A passenger is attended to by waiting paramedics at the Fremantle Passenger Terminal on March 27, 2020. Paul Kane/Getty Images

But on March 27, the ship was allowed to dock under the condition it would quarantine for two weeks. One day later, 46 passengers started showing symptoms, with Western Australia's state premier saying the situation had reached a "crisis point."

At first, the MV Artania was forced to anchor off-shore because Australian authorities were concerned about the potential virus risk posed by the cruise ship.

The cruise ship sits anchored off the port of Fremantle near Perth on March 27, 2020. TONY ASHBY/AFP via Getty Images

But on the way to Fremantle, passengers started showing symptoms of the coronavirus. By the time the cruise ship arrived one week later, seven people had tested positive.

A passenger on the MV Artania look out from their rooms in Fremantle on March 27, 2020. Paul Kane/Getty Images)

But on the way to Fremantle, passengers started showing symptoms of the coronavirus. By the time the cruise ship arrived one week later, seven people had tested positive.

Yet the cruise had every intention to keep going. On March 19, it left for Fremantle, a port city on Australia's western coast, where it planned to make a quick refuel stop before continuing on to Africa, the Suez Canal, and parts of Europe.

A depiction of where Fremantle is Google Maps

Yet the cruise had every intention to keep going. On March 19, it left for Fremantle, a port city on Australia's western coast, where it planned to make a quick refuel stop before continuing on to Africa, the Suez Canal, and parts of Europe.

While the MV Artania had no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the time, it still gave guests the options to fly back to Germany from Sydney. Out of the approximately 1,072 passengers on board, 199 took up of the offer.

The Artania cruise ship in White Bay, Sydney, on March 16, 2020. James D. Morgan/Getty Images

While the MV Artania had no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the time, it still gave guests the options to fly back to Germany from Sydney. Out of the approximately 1,072 passengers on board, 199 took up of the offer.

It arrived in Sydney on March 12. Around this time, countries around the world had started blocking cruise ships from docking in their ports for fears of contracting the coronavirus.

The Artania cruise ship in front of P&O Cruises Pacific Explorer in Sydney, Australia on March 16, 2020 James D. Morgan/Getty Images

It arrived in Sydney on March 12. Around this time, countries around the world had started blocking cruise ships from docking in their ports for fears of contracting the coronavirus.

It embarked on its 140-day journey from Hamburg, Germany, on December 21, 2019. In the first two months of its journey, it traveled through countries including the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia.

A screenshot from an official YouTube video tour of the MV Artania's upper deck in 2018. Cruisechannel/YouTube

It embarked on its 140-day journey from Hamburg, Germany, on December 21, 2019. In the first two months of its journey, it traveled through countries including the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia.

The MV Artania is a 1,200-passenger cruise ship with 600 cabins, two pools, and a cinema. It is operated by German travel agency Phoenix Reisen.

Passengers board the MV Artania in Lisbon, Portugal, on June 3, 2016. Horacio Villalobos#476916#51B ED/Corbis via Getty Images)

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One of the last cruises at sea now has just 8 passengers left after 4 died of the coronavirus and hundreds abandoned ship. Here's how a 140-day world tour turned to disaster.

This journey as been a sad one. As of Friday, four people from the ship have since died from the coronavirus.

The trip back to Germany will be a long one — the cruise's operator says it will arrive in its home port of Bremerhaven on May 31, which is more than five weeks away.

It now plans to drop by the Philippines to let more crew members disembark before returning to Germany.

The ship sailed to Jakarta, Indonesia, on April 24 to drop off crew members from the country. This left eight passengers and 75 crew members on board.

The German captain, Morten Hanson, left a video message on Twitter, thanking the authorities and medical teams for assisting the cruise ship as it battled the outbreak.

On April 16, the ship — which now had eight passengers on board and hundreds of crew members — left Fremantle. Groups of people gathered to bid them farewell from the Australian mainland.

Another standoff between the ship and local authorities ensued on April 1, when the MV Artania refused to follow orders to leave the port and asked to stay another 14 days. They were eventually allowed.

But some of those who tested positive and were showing milder symptoms of the virus were still quarantined on the ship. At this point, 12 passengers and 450 crew members were left on board.

In the following days, Australian authorities allowed anyone who was still healthy — 832 passengers at this point — to fly home from the nearby Perth airport on a chartered aircraft.

But on March 27, the ship was allowed to dock under the condition it would quarantine for two weeks. One day later, 46 passengers started showing symptoms, with Western Australia's state premier saying the situation had reached a "crisis point."

At first, the MV Artania was forced to anchor off-shore because Australian authorities were concerned about the potential virus risk posed by the cruise ship.

But on the way to Fremantle, passengers started showing symptoms of the coronavirus. By the time the cruise ship arrived one week later, seven people had tested positive.

Yet the cruise had every intention to keep going. On March 19, it left for Fremantle, a port city on Australia's western coast, where it planned to make a quick refuel stop before continuing on to Africa, the Suez Canal, and parts of Europe.

While the MV Artania had no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the time, it still gave guests the options to fly back to Germany from Sydney. Out of the approximately 1,072 passengers on board, 199 took up of the offer.

It arrived in Sydney on March 12. Around this time, countries around the world had started blocking cruise ships from docking in their ports for fears of contracting the coronavirus.

It embarked on its 140-day journey from Hamburg, Germany, on December 21, 2019. In the first two months of its journey, it traveled through countries including the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia.

The MV Artania is a 1,200-passenger cruise ship with 600 cabins, two pools, and a cinema. It is operated by German travel agency Phoenix Reisen.