Millennium News

The United Nations is celebrating 80 years this year, and this week’s general assembly is meeting under the theme: Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development, and human rights.The UN Charter was signed on June 26, 1945, and came into force October 24 that year.From its founding, the United Nations has been at the heart of global cooperation. Highlights include:• Universal Declaration of Human Rights – 1948• UN peacekeeping created – 1948• Eradication of smallpox…

With the British government's announced plan to increase the windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas producers to 38% from 35% and extend the levy by one year, a move to fund renewable energy projects, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to implore the UK to "open up" the British North Sea and get rid of windmills."The U.K. is making a very big mistake. Open up the North Sea. Get rid of Windmills!" Trump's post said.As Monday, January 20, 2025 grows closer -- inauguration day for the incoming U.S.

The number and size of cruise ships globally has doubled since the start of the millennium, T&E’s new ‘Cruisezillas: How much bigger can cruise ships get?’ report reveals. If they continue to grow at this rate, the biggest cruise ships in 2050 could be a staggering 345,000 gross tonnage, making them almost eight times bigger than the Titanic.In January 2024, the world’s largest cruise ship to date, the Icon of the Seas, was launched. The floating city contains 40 restaurants, seven swimming pools and can carry 7,600 passengers.

A replica Viking ship has berthed in Montenegro's Adriatic port of Bar on a years-long trip through European waters inspired by the Norse seafarers who set out from Scandinavia to explore, trade and conquer a millennium ago.The ship, Saga Farmann, is a full-size archaeological reconstruction of a 10th-century Viking cargo vessel, or knarr, made from oak and pine, which was found in Norway as early as 1893 but only excavated in the 1970s."This is the type of ship that would travel to Iceland…

Lockport, La. based Bordelon Marine announced it has renewed the charter agreement with Oceaneering International for the Brandon Bordelon; 260-foot-long DP2 Jones Act compliant ultra-light intervention vessel for an additional two-year firm term plus one-year additional option. The charter agreement renewal commenced in March 2024.The 2015-built vessel is mobilized with two Oceaneering Millennium Plus work class remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and Oceaneering survey equipment and technology.

Singapore-based Seatrium has secured a series of major contracts for vessel repairs, upgrades and conversions, set for completion by the end of 2025.With an aggregate value of S$350 million ($259 million), the contracts have reinforced Seatrium’s reputation as a one of the market leaders in vessel repairs, upgrades and conversions.The diverse range of complex contracts secured by Seatrium Repairs and Upgrades include the upgrades and conversions of Floating Storage Regasification Units (FSRU)…

HamiltonJet has unveiled a new range of high-efficiency waterjets, starting with the LTX36 model. Optimized for medium- and low-speed operation, New Zealand-based manufacturer said it has produced the first waterjet to rival the energy efficiency and bollard pull of the best propeller-based systems between zero and 30 knots.Waterjets are among the most efficient propulsion options for going fast due to the absence of hull-appendages and their highly optimized pump geometry, but HamiltonJet CEO Ben Reed noted not everyone wants to go fast.“Our customers’ needs are changing…

U.S. based offshore vessel owner Bordelon Marine LLC said it has renewed the charter agreement with Oceaneering International, Inc. for the MV Brandon Bordelon; 260’ DP2 Jones-Act-compliant ultra-light intervention vessel for an additional two-year firm term.The charter agreement renewal commenced in February 2022. The vessel is currently oprtating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, according to AIS ship tracking data.The vessel is mobilized with two Oceaneering Millennium Plus work class remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) and Oceaneering survey equipment and technology.

Thai-based offshore services company Mermaid Subsea Services has agreed to buy a 50% ownership share in the Millennium 3 offshore construction vessel from PT David Marine for $16 million.The Millennium 3 is a DP2 construction support vessel built in 2011 in Indonesia by Nantong Dongjiang Shipyard Co. Ltd. and is currently operating in the Persian Gulf. Classified by Bureau Veritas, the ship is flagged under the state of Comoros, with Moroni listed as its port of registration. The vessel has a 300-ton crane and accommodation berths for 239 personnel. The seller, PT David Marine, is affiliated with Mubarak Marine, a UAE-based company that provides…

Royal Caribbean International said on Tuesday it would require unvaccinated guests over 12 years of age traveling from Florida to show proof of insurance that covers COVID-19 related medical expenses, quarantine and evacuation.The new policy comes after two unvaccinated teenagers tested positive on its Adventure of the Seas ship and two others were infected on its Celebrity Millennium earlier this month, for which the cruise line took care of expenses.One of its trips, aboard the brand ship Odyssey of the Seas…

Royal Caribbean Group said on Thursday two guests on its cruise liner, Adventure of the Seas, had tested positive for COVID-19.Both guests were not vaccinated and had been quarantined before they disembarked on Thursday in Freeport, The Bahamas, Royal Caribbean International, a unit of the company clarified in a statement.The news comes a week after the company said it would delay the launch of its new cruise liner by nearly a month after eight crew members tested positive for COVID-19.Cruising companies…

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eased its warnings for cruise ships from level 4, the highest, to 3 as operators prepare for summer trips from U.S.

Royal Caribbean Group said on Wednesday it would delay the launch of its new cruise liner by nearly a month after eight crew members tested positive for COVID-19, the latest setback in its push to restart the much-awaited U.S. summer trips.Odyssey of the Seas, which was scheduled to sail through the Southern and Western Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will now set sail on July 31 instead of July 3. A simulation cruise, originally set for late June, will also be rescheduled.Cruise companies have been cleared in the United States to sail under strict conditions…

Royal Caribbean Group and Carnival Corp will push ahead with a return to cruises this summer despite two guests onboard Royal Caribbean’s Celebrity Millennium ship testing positive for COVID-19.A year after several cruise ships were host to major coronavirus outbreaks and with large numbers of Americans now vaccinated, cruise lines have been striving to get the business going.Shares in Royal Caribbean, Carnival Corp, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd fell between 1% and 2% in response to the report of the positive tests.Asked by Reuters on Friday…

Cruise operator Royal Caribbean said on Thursday two guests onboard its Celebrity Millennium ship have tested positive for COVID-19, but are asymptomatic and currently in isolation.The guests, who were sharing a room, are being monitored by the company’s medical team, the cruise operator said, adding that it was conducting contact tracing, expediting testing for all close contacts of the individuals.Celebrity Millennium was one of the first cruises in North America to restart sailing last week, after more than a year.Royal Caribbean started sailing in June after meeting the Centers for Disease

Some of Royal Caribbean Group’s cruises will resume sailing in the Caribbean in June with vaccinated adult guests, ending a year-long hiatus brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.Adventure of the Seas and Celebrity Millennium ships will also have vaccinated crews and accept children under the age of 18 with a negative COVID-19 test, Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises said on Friday.“Returning to the Caribbean ... marks the measured beginning of the end of what has been a uniquely challenging time for everyone…

It is widely expected that cuts in defense and security budgets are coming as governments across the world grapple with the fiscal fallout from the COVID-19 crisis. To ensure that these cuts do not undermine global security, policymakers should approach their defense budgets with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.In navigating the tough choices that lay ahead, government decision-makers should pursue spending reforms that enable states to operate both leaner and smarter, without sacrificing their vital security interests.The maritime security domain offers an exemplary case study.

Saltchuk Marine announced it has acquired Centerline Logistics’ harbor ship assist operations in California and the Pacific Northwest.Eight ship assist tugs currently operated under the Millennium and Starlight brands will join the Saltchuk Marine fleet in early 2021. Operations will be consolidated under the Starlight brand, which will remain independently-operated – managing, dispatching, and crewing its own boats.The acquisition increases the ship assist capacity of Saltchuk…

U.S. subsea services firm Harvey Gulf Subsea Solutions has selected Oceaneering for ROV and support services onboard its four Jones act compliant offshore vessels. Oceaneering will provide eight Millennium Plus ROV systems, personnel, and accompanying survey suites in a multi-year deal supporting Harvey Gulf Subsea's operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

Spanish state-owned shipbuilder Navantia on Wednesday launched the first of five Avante 2200 corvettes it's building for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) for delivery through 2024.The five frigates were ordered in July 2018 for a cost of €1.8 billion ($2.1 billion), and first steel was cut for the series' first vessel in January 2019.Launched at the builder's San Fernando shipyard, the new vessel Al-Jubail has a length of 104 meters, a beam of 14 meters and will be able to accommodate 102 people (crew and additional personnel).

Originating in 1902 as a mining operation, digging sand & gravel from pits in Neckarsulm, family-owned Freyer Hafenlogistik now towers over the skyline with its new SENNEBOGEN 870 E unloading ships at the inland river port of Germersheim.Port logistics have become the focus of business for Freyer Hafenlogistik since the business began its diversification plan in Germersheim in 1969. Senior Manager Erich Freyer explains, “Keeping up with the times meant being able to react more flexibly to market requirements.

Oceaneering International announced Monday that it has taken delivery of a newbuild subsea construction support vessel, Ocean Evolution, built by BAE Systems in the US.The US-flagged, Jones Act-compliant multi-service vessel (MSV) has completed sea trials and received all necessary ABS and U.S. Coast Guard certifications and is currently in Port Fourchon, La., completing final outfitting and preparing for project work scheduled to begin in June.Oceaneering said the vessel is designed…

Tallink Grupp, the largest passenger and cargo shipping company in the Baltic Sea region, and Finnish shipbuilding company Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) signed the contract for the construction of a new LNG-powered fast ferry for the Tallinn – Helsinki route shuttle operations.Similarl to the group’s newest vessel Megastar, the new shuttle ferry will also be dual fuel operated, its overall length will be approximately 212 meters and with a passenger capacity of 2,800, said a press release from the Estonian shipping company operating Baltic Sea cruiseferries and RoPax ships from Estonia to Finland.The vessel will cost approximately 250 million euros and it will be built at the Rauma shipyard in Finland…