MIAMI (CNN) -- On the eve of a major court battle with the U.S. Justice Department, Royal Caribbean Cruise International has agreed to admit to polluting the sea by dumping waste oil from nearly half its cruise ship fleet, CNN has learned.

The settlement is expected to total millions of dollars, sources said.

Royal Caribbean -- the world's second largest cruise line with 12 ships traveling to ports in the U.S, Caribbean, Europe and Asia -- was scheduled to face the first of two trials in both Miami and San Juan starting Tuesday.

The settlement covers 11 charges accusing the cruise line of systematically discharging waste oil from five ships, lying to U.S. law enforcement investigators, falsifying records, tampering with witnesses and destroying evidence.

Royal Caribbean was charged with bypassing required pollution control devices that separate engine waste oil. Normally, used oil is kept in holding tanks aboard ship for proper disposal onshore. The cruise line is accused of dumping that discharge into the sea.

The U.S. Justice Department named the following ships as part of its cases: The Sovereign of the Seas, Monarch of the Seas, Song of America, Nordic Prince, and Nordic Empress.

Terms of the plea agreement are expected be made public before U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks in Miami Tuesday. Cruise line spokeswoman Lynn Martenstein declined comment on the settlement. She said the company would make a public statement on Tuesday.

Evidence includes infrared video of an oil discharge made by a U.S. Coast Guard infrared camera.