Carnival Corporation has signed a memorandum of agreement with leading German and Finnish shipbuilders Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku to deliver three additional next-generation cruise ships that will be fully powered by Liquefied Natural Gas.

The shipbuilding agreements are subject to several conditions, including satisfactory financing.

Carnival Corporation said two of the new LNG-powered ships are designated for its Carnival Cruise Line, and will be built by Meyer Turku at its shipyard in Turku, Finland, with delivery dates expected in 2020 and 2022.

The new ship for P&O Cruises UK will be built by Meyer Werft at its shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, with an expected delivery date in 2020.

In conjunction with the order, the delivery dates for the new builds for Germany-based AIDA Cruises and Italy-based Costa Cruises for 2020 will shift to 2021 to allow the company to more effectively allocate measured capacity growth across its ten global cruise brands in more markets throughout the world.

In total, the company now has agreements in place to build seven LNG-powered cruise ships across four of its global cruise brands in coming years.

As previously announced, the first of these ships is expected to be in service for AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises in 2019.

Based on Carnival Corporation’s next-generation “green cruising” ship design, these new vessels will be part of the first generation of cruise ships to be fully powered by LNG, which is an industry first and an environmental breakthrough that will produce the most efficient ships in the company’s history.

Pioneering a new era in the use of alternative fuels that reduce air emissions, these new ships will use LNG to generate 100 per cent of the ship’s power both in port and on the open sea – an innovation that will significantly reduce exhaust emissions to help protect the environment and support the company’s aggressive sustainability goals.

“We are proud to be at the forefront of introducing LNG-powered ships to the cruise industry, working with our partners to achieve shipbuilding breakthroughs like this that will help us produce the most efficient and sustainable ships we have ever built,” said Arnold Donald, chief executive,  of Carnival Corporation.

“This is also an important step in our fleet enhancement plan that enables us to execute on our long-term strategy of measured capacity growth over time, while delivering innovative new ships that further elevate our already great guest experience.

“Every time we launch a new ship, we have a new opportunity to create excitement and show consumers why cruising is a great vacation at an exceptional value, especially for those who typically consider land-based vacations.”