Carnival wins Covid-19 cruise ship damages case         

The ruling comes as Carnival and other major cruise lines including Royal Caribbean Cruises are seeking a nod from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to return to sailing 

Cunard's Ocean liner Queen Mary 2 (left), and the cruise ships Carnival Valor and Marella Explorer 2 (right) in Portland, Dorset, as the cruise industry remains in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Carnival is poised to dramatically curb monetary damages for passengers killed by the coronavirus under the latest US court decision to side with the company.

If a ruling this week by a Los Angeles federal judge is followed by others, it could offer the cruise line something of a safe harbour under the Death on the High Seas Act. The century-old federal law limits payouts for survivors to “pecuniary” damages such as how much the deceased contributed through wages or housework. One maritime lawyer said that in the case of retirees, who make up a large portion of Carnival’s customers, the recovery may amount to little more than burial costs.