Carnival Corporation has outlined plans to significantly increase installations of its industry-first exhaust gas cleaning technology to more than 70 vessels.

The expansion covering over 70 per cent of its entire fleet represents an increase from the 32 ships announced in September 2013.

Carnival Corporation is investing as much as $400 million to design, build and install the systems, being used for the first time in the restricted space found on cruise ships.

The systems will enable Carnival Corporation to meet new regulations that place a cap on sulfur content of fuel oil at 0.1 per cent, resulting in significantly reduced air emissions.

The systems will help the company meet its environmental sustainability goals, as well as mitigate escalating fuel costs.

The systems, known for their ability to clean – or “scrub” – exhaust from high-sulfur fuel, are scheduled to be installed over the next three years.

The current installation schedule initially includes 22 Carnival Cruise Lines vessels, nine Holland America Line vessels, seven Princess Cruises vessels and three Cunard vessels.

In addition to those 41 ships, two other Carnival Corporation brands, AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises, will also install the systems – ten ships for AIDA Cruises and six ships for Costa Cruises.

On May 5th, AIDAluna emerged from a nine-day dry dock in Hamburg, Germany, with the first stage of the comprehensive exhaust gas treatment system installed.

The remaining schedule of installations will be forthcoming.

In addition, Carnival UK brand P&O Cruises is assessing how the systems can be most effective on its vessels under European Union environmental law.

“This is a key step forward for Carnival Corporation and its ten brands—and most importantly for the environment,” said Carnival Corporation chief executive Arnold Donald.

“We believe Carnival Corporation’s investment in this industry-leading technology will set a new course in environmental protection and cleaner air for years to come.

“Increasing environmental sustainability is one of our most important corporate goals, and having the new systems on our ships will be another effective way for us to meet that objective.”

In September 2013, Carnival Corporation announced it had pioneered adapting a proven exhaust gas cleaning technology to use on its ships.

The system is called ECO Exhaust Gas Cleaning for its ability to remove major pollutants from the exhaust gases at any operating condition of a ship - at sea, during manoeuvring and in port.