Work being performed is expected to take approximately one month and includes modifications to the stern hull structure, some underwater hull equipment inspections and underwater hull painting. "The underwater hull equipment work will include inspection of the propulsion system," said Becky Stewart, director, Ship Repair at NNS. "Newport News Shipbuilding is working in coordination with the ship’s builder, Chantiers de l’Atlantique, to manufacture structural components to be added to the exterior hull of the Millennium that will modify the hull shape." These components will eliminate a vibration detected in certain areas of the ship under certain sea conditions.

Owned and operated by Celebrity Cruises based in Miami, Florida, Millennium joined the Celebrity fleet in June 2000, and is the first cruise ship to employ gas turbines as the primary source of propulsion power. The 91,000-ton ship, which is 965 feet long and 106 feet wide will carry approximately 1,950 passengers.

Since 1992, NNS has enjoyed an excellent relationship with Celebrity Cruises. The Celebrity ships, Zenith and Horizon, which sail the Caribbean, have docked exclusively at NNS since they have been in service.

Newport News Shipbuilding designs and constructs nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines for the U.S. Navy and provides life-cycle services for ships in the Navy fleet. The company employs nearly 17,000 people and has annual revenues of approximately $2.2 billion. Visit NNS on the Web at www.nns.com.