What happened
Cruise ship stocks sank on Monday, following reports of coronavirus incidents aboard vessels and additional voyage cancellations. By the close of trading today, shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH 5.39%) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL 3.55%) were down 4.3% and 2.7%, respectively, while Carnival's two stocks -- Carnival Corporation (CCL 3.57%) and Carnival Plc (CUK 3.71%) -- were down more than 5%.
So what
Several cruise lines resumed sailing in recent days. Yet despite increased safety measures designed to protect passengers from COVID-19, at least 40 people aboard multiple ships have been infected with the dangerous disease.
Cruise ships stocks declined on Monday on news of new coronavirus outbreaks. Image source: Getty Images.
Additionally, Carnival said on Monday it would need to cancel its AIDA cruise line's voyages scheduled between Aug. 5 and Aug. 12. Carnival said it had not yet received clearances from the Italian government to resume sailings. It's unclear if the industry's recent coronavirus incidents contributed to the delay.
Now what
Unsurprisingly, it appears that it will be quite difficult for the major cruise line operators to safely resume sailing during the coronavirus pandemic. So, until an effective vaccine or treatment for COVID-19 is developed and widely available, the stocks of Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line are likely to continue to languish.
