The Cruise Division of the MSC Group, Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and Italian energy company Snam said Monday that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a feasibility study for the design and construction of what would become the world's first ocean-going hydrogen-powered cruise ship.

In the next 12 months the three companies will study the "key factors" related to the development of hydrogen-powered cruise ships, including arranging ship spaces to accommodate H2 technologies and fuel cells and the technical parameters of onboard systems.