Carnival Stock Drops In Wake Of Cruise Disaster
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Shares of Miami-based Carnival Corp. are suffering in the wake of the deadly capsizing of the Costa Concordia cruise ship.
Shares of Carnival, which is the parent company of Costa Cruises, slid $4.73 in U.S. trading Tuesday, down to $29.55 in afternoon trading which is down 13.8 percent.
The stock is trading at the low end of its 52-week range of $28.52 to $48.13.
Carnival estimated that preliminary losses from having the Concordia out of operation at least through 2012 would be between $85 million and $95 million, along with other costs.
The company said it has insurance policies for both damage to the vessel and personal injury liability for third parties. But there is a $30 million deductible on the damage policy and $10 million deductible on the personal injury policy.
Carnival said other costs related to the grounding can't yet be determined.
The accident on Friday has left at least 11 people dead after five more bodies were found Tuesday. More than 20 people are still missing as the ship lists on its side near the island of Giglio off the coast of Italy.
Carnival released details of the financial costs in a statement Monday, adding that it is "deeply saddened by this tragic event."
Shares of Carnival rival Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) were down 3.7% in morning trading on investor fears that the accident could hurt demand for all cruises.
Late Tuesday, Chairman and CEO of Carnival Cruises Corporation & plc released this statement:
"We are deeply saddened by the reports of additional deaths following the grounding of the Costa Concordia. On behalf of the entire Carnival Corporation & plc team, I offer our heartfelt condolences to all of those families affected by this tragedy. Our immediate priority continues to be supporting rescue and recovery efforts and looking after our guests and crew members, along with securing the vessel to ensure there is no environmental impact. My senior management team and I have been in continuous contact with the Costa executive team inItalyand we have our senior level technical experts on the ground to provide additional support for this tragic and highly unusual incident. While this is a terribly sad time for everyone involved, we want to recognize the tremendous efforts of Concordia's crew, who along with the Italian Coast Guard and authorities, helped to evacuate more than 4,000 passengers and crew members from the ship in very difficult conditions. And we continue to offer our deep gratitude to the Italian authorities for their support and ongoing efforts."
