Carnival has announced that the sinking of the Costa Concordia cruise ship could wipe out its profits in 2012.

Carnival says Costa Concordia disaster could reduce the company’s profits by as much as 82% this year after more than 30 people are believed to have died in the accident.

In the quarter to 29 February, it lost $139 million compared to a $152 million profit in the same period last year.

Carnival has announced that the sinking of the Costa Concordia cruise ship could wipe out its profits in 2012

Carnival’s problems were exacerbated when another Costa Cruises ship, Costa Allegra, had to be towed ashore last month.

Costa Cruises is a subsidiary of Carnival and runs 14 of the company’s total fleet of 101 ships. Other brands include Carnival, Cunard, Holland America, Princess and Seabourn.

The company said that bookings improved as media coverage of the disaster declined.

It said that booking volumes for the Costa line are running “significantly behind” the same period last year.