The first steel has been cut for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) -powered cruise ship ordered by German cruise line AIDA Cruises from compatriot shipyard Meyer Werft.

The steel-cutting ceremony was held at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg on Feb. 21, 2017.

The newbuilding will be the world's first cruise ship that can be run completely on LNG, according to AIDA Cruises.

"With the 'Green Cruising' concept, AIDA Cruises will be the first cruise shipping company in the world with the capability to operate its new generation of ships using 100% LNG," said the company.

"We are very pleased that we can break completely new technological ground with AIDA in this way. AIDA and Carnival now lead the way for establishing LNG as the fuel of the future", Tim Meyer, CEO at Meyer Werft, stated.

The new cruise ship, which will be the 13th member in AIDA's fleet, will take passengers to the Canaries from December 2018.

AIDA Cruises cruises ordered the ship in summer 2015, as part of a deal for two next-generation cruise ships.

The two 180,000 gross ton vessels are scheduled to join AIDA's fleet in autumn 2018 and in spring 2021.