TENERIFE, Spain - Spanish authorities launched an operation on Sunday to evacuate and transfer all passengers and part of the crew aboard the hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius.

Earlier, the vessel anchored off the Port of Granadilla on the Spanish island of Tenerife.

Personnel from Spain's External Health Service, or Sanidad Exterior, later boarded the vessel to carry out epidemiological investigations and health assessments.

Later in the morning, the first group of passengers began disembarking and were transferred ashore as part of the evacuation operation.

Speaking at a press conference held at the scene, Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia said the evacuation operation would begin with the 14 Spanish nationals aboard the vessel. All passengers and part of the crew would leave the ship in groups aboard zodiac boats before being transferred by buses under strict sanitary and security measures to Tenerife South Airport for onward transportation arrangements.

The cruise ship is not expected to dock at the port during the operation, and "everything is going according to plan," Garcia said.

Despite the complexity of coordination and public health control measures, the operation had been "generally successful," she said, noting that no one aboard the vessel had shown symptoms before the evacuation process began.

Under Spain's emergency deployment plan, the country's Military Emergencies Unit dispatched buses equipped with sanitary protection measures to assist with the transfers, while the Civil Guard participated in on-site security and coordination efforts. Health authorities, emergency services and police forces from the Canary Islands also took part in the joint operation.

According to Garcia, Spanish citizens would be evacuated first, followed by Dutch nationals and passengers from Germany, Belgium and Greece, as well as part of the crew, under arrangements coordinated by the Netherlands. The remaining passengers would depart on different flights scheduled throughout the day.

The final evacuation flight is expected to depart on Monday to transport Australian nationals. The Netherlands also plans to send a so-called "sweep flight" to collect individuals who have not yet been repatriated by their respective countries.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory Angel Victor Torres, and World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus were also in Tenerife to coordinate the evacuation operation.