Carnival Flags Impact to Operations Amid Red Sea Tensions

Cruise operator Carnival on Friday joined the growing list of companies flagging a potential hit to their operations following attacks on ships in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis.

"We believe that the instability in the Red Sea region currently impacting shipping could have an impact on our results of operations," Carnival said in a regulatory filing.

The company's U.S.-listed shares fell nearly 2% in morning trade.

The attacks, which the Houthis say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, have raised the cost of shipping and insurance by disrupting a key trade route between Asia and Europe.

Military strikes by U.S. and British forces on Houthi targets in Yemen this month have failed to stop attacks on shipping by the group, which controls a large chunk of Yemen including the capital Sanaa and much of the country's Red Sea coast by the Bab al-Mandab strait.

Carnival's peer Royal Caribbean Group said earlier in January it had canceled two voyages to avoid the Red Sea.

Swiss Italian operator MSC Cruises said last week it canceled three trips due in April from South Africa and the United Arab Emirates to Europe

(Reuters - Reporting by Juveria Tabassum; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)