Cruise Ship Stocks Slide As Powerful Hurricane Beryl Churns In Caribbean

Shares of Carnival Corp, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line fell in New York on Monday after reports of a record-breaking hurricane sweeping through the Caribbean.

Earlier, Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Carriacou Island, a Caribbean island part of Grenada. The powerful Category 4 storm was just seven mph below the threshold for becoming a Category 5 (157 mph) on the Saffir-Simpson scale. 

“Residents in Grenada, the Grenadine Islands, and Carriacou Island should not leave their shelter as winds will rapidly increase within the eyewall of Beryl,” Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center, wrote in a note.

Reinhart said, “Remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions and do not venture out in the eye of the storm.”

The Caribbean is heavily trafficked by cruise ships, resulting in traders selling Carnival Corp. (-5%), Royal Caribbean Cruises (-2.3%), and Norwegian Cruises (-6%). 

According to Philip Klotzbach, a Colorado State University hurricane researcher, Beryl strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane Sunday morning. It became the first major hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles on record for June. The reason is due to the extremely warm water in the Atlantic Basin. 

“Beryl is an extremely dangerous and rare hurricane for this time of year in this area,” hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry told CBS News. 

Looking ahead, Beryl has set its crosshairs for the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Belize, and Honduras. The storm could make landfall in Mexico or Belize on Friday.