Carnival says business down by 15 percent

The owner of the Costa Concordia has suffered a huge fall in bookings since the Italian cruise ship disaster.

Carnival yesterday said demand was down by around 15% since the crash off the island of Giglio. The company warned the costs from the accident, which claimed at least 17 lives, could wipe at least £110 million from profits this year. And it said the final bill could be even higher.

In a statement in the US, it said: “We anticipate other financial impacts.”

Yesterday it emerged the islanders of Giglio are threatening to sue Carnival amid fears the presence of the crippled liner will ruin the summer tourist season.

Island spokesman Fabio Agugliari said: “We’re warning Costa Cruises and Carnival that they must remove the ship quickly without polluting the sea, otherwise we’ll hit them with a class action.”

Carnival, which also owns P&O Cruises as well as Costa Cruises, revealed that it was still considering whether to bring the Concordia back into service.

If the £390million ship can be repaired, it will not sail until next year at the earliest.