MV Millennial Spirit

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| Ship image = File:Freyja, IMO 7392610 photo-4.JPG

| Ship caption = Millennial Spirit under previous name Freyja

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{{Infobox ship career

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| Ship laid down =

| Ship fate = Shelled by a Russian warship on 25 February 2022

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| Ship completed = 1974

| Ship launched = 22 June 1974

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| Ship name = Millennial Spirit

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| Ship registry = {{Flag|Moldova}}

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| Ship identification = *{{IMO Number|7392610}}

{{MMSI Number|248384000}}
Callsign: 9HCD6

| Ship notes = Formerly Freyja

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{{Infobox ship characteristics

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| Ship crew = 10 or 12

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| Ship speed = {{convert|13.5|kn|lk=in}}

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| Ship draught = {{cvt|4.6|m|ftin}}

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| Ship beam = {{cvt|12.53|m|ftin}}

| Ship length = {{cvt|77.12|m|ftin}}

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| Ship tonnage = {{DWT|2200}}

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MV Millennial Spirit is a Moldovan chemical tanker which transports diesel fuel. Built in 1974, the ship was previously known as MV Freyja under the ownership of an Icelandic shipping firm. It was shelled and its crew was forced to abandon ship in the Black Sea during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to Ukrainian officials, the ship was shelled by Russian warships.

Characteristics

The Millennial Spirit is a 2,200-ton chemical tanker which is {{cvt|77.12|m|ftin}} long, has a beam of {{cvt|12.53|m|ftin}}, and a draught of {{cvt|4.6|m|ftin}}. It was assessed at {{GT|1665|disp=long}} and {{DWT|2200|disp=long}}.{{cite web |title=Freyja |url=http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:284968/mmsi:248384000/vessel:FREYJA |publisher=Marinetraffic.com |accessdate=23 May 2014 |archive-date=28 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228052535/http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:284968/mmsi:248384000/vessel:FREYJA |url-status=live }} It has a single deck and a crew of either 10 or 12.{{Cite news |last=Hockaday |first=James |date=25 February 2022 |title=Moldovan chemical tanker hit by missile off coast of Ukraine |work=Metro |url=https://metro.co.uk/2022/02/25/moldovan-chemical-tanker-hit-by-missile-off-coast-of-ukraine-16174874/ |url-status=live |access-date=25 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225200708/https://metro.co.uk/2022/02/25/moldovan-chemical-tanker-hit-by-missile-off-coast-of-ukraine-16174874/ |archive-date=25 February 2022}}{{Cite news|last=Adjin|first=Adis|date=25 February 2022|title=Two more ships hit in the Black Sea|work=Splash 247|url=https://splash247.com/two-more-ships-hit-in-the-black-sea/|access-date=25 February 2022|archive-date=26 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226061148/https://splash247.com/two-more-ships-hit-in-the-black-sea/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last=Coyne |first=Matt |last2=Dixon |first2=Gary |date=2 March 2022 |title=Engineer killed in attack on Bangladeshi bulker in Black Sea |work=TradeWinds News |url=https://www.tradewindsnews.com/casualties/engineer-killed-in-attack-on-bangladeshi-bulker-in-black-sea/2-1-1177847 |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-date=6 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306091918/https://www.tradewindsnews.com/casualties/engineer-killed-in-attack-on-bangladeshi-bulker-in-black-sea/2-1-1177847 |url-status=live }}

History

= Building=

The ship was constructed in Lauenburg, West Germany, by builder J.G. Hitzler Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik. It was completed on 22 June 1974 under its first recorded name Essberger Pilot with an original port of registry at Limassol, Cyprus. Over the following years, the ship would change names several times, including Solvent Explorer, Tom Lima, and Hordafor Pilot.

= As ''Freyja'' =

In August 2001 the tanker was acquired by Icelandic shipping firm Nesskip along with {{MV|Frigg||6}}, another chemical tanker.{{cite web|url=http://www.heimsnet.is/iceship/hsmyndir/Kaupskip/Onnur/company/Nesskip.htm|title=NESSKIP HF|publisher=Heimsnet.is|accessdate=23 May 2014|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924025540/http://www.heimsnet.is/iceship/hsmyndir/Kaupskip/Onnur/company/Nesskip.htm|url-status=live}} It was renamed to MV Freyja and was operated by Nesskip until 2015, registered in Valletta, Malta.

= Shelling =

On 25 February 2022, the Millennial Spirit was carrying 600 tons of diesel fuel while transiting through the Black Sea. According to a Ukrainian ministry, the tanker was shelled while underway {{cvt|12|nmi|km|disp=flip}} south of the Ukrainian port of Yuzhne by Russian warships involved in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.{{Cite news|last=Payne|first=Julia|date=26 February 2022|title=Ukraine says two commercial ships hit by Russian missiles near Odessa port|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moldovan-flagged-tanker-hit-by-missile-ukraine-coast-2022-02-25/|access-date=29 April 2022|archive-date=26 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426052032/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moldovan-flagged-tanker-hit-by-missile-ukraine-coast-2022-02-25/|url-status=live}} The ship's crew were stated to be Russian by Moldova's naval agency;{{Cite news |last=Riga |first=Jessica |last2=Sweeney |first2=Lucy |last3=Doyle |first3=Michael |last4=Howard |first4=Jacqueline |date=28 February 2022 |title=Residents warned to stay indoors as 'active hostilities' approach Kyiv's Obolon district — As it happened |work=ABC |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-25/ukraine-russia-conflict-chernobyl-seized-fighting-continues/100859604 |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318080720/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-25/ukraine-russia-conflict-chernobyl-seized-fighting-continues/100859604 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Blenkey |first=Nick |date=28 February 2022 |title=Russian attacks on merchant ships reported |work=Marine Log |url=https://www.marinelog.com/legal-safety/shipping/video-russian-attacks-on-merchant-ships-reported%EF%BF%BC/ |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-date=21 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321190757/https://www.marinelog.com/legal-safety/shipping/video-russian-attacks-on-merchant-ships-reported%ef%bf%bc/ |url-status=live }} two were injured and all were forced to abandon ship in lifejackets. All of the crew were rescued by Ukrainian authorities and those injured were sent to a hospital.{{Cite news|last=Tanas|first=Olga|date=25 February 2022|title=Chemical Tanker in Black Sea Hit by Shelling, Crew Abandons Ship|work=BNN Bloomberg|url=https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/chemical-tanker-in-black-sea-hit-by-shelling-crew-abandons-ship-1.1728760|access-date=25 February 2022|archive-date=25 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225145321/https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/chemical-tanker-in-black-sea-hit-by-shelling-crew-abandons-ship-1.1728760|url-status=live}}

Early reports indicated that the vessel was sailing under the Romanian flag, a country which is in NATO, prompting concerns about an attack on a NATO member. However, these reports turned out to be false and Moldova's naval agency confirmed that the Millennial Spirit was Moldovan.

The oiler was still on the surface and afire as of 16 March 2022. Because of this, The Drive has suggested that{{cite web |title=The Curious Case Of Russia's 'Back From The Dead' Warship That Ukraine Supposedly Struck |url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44797/the-case-of-russias-apparently-back-from-the-dead-black-sea-warship |first=Joseph |last=Trevithick |newspaper=The Drive |date=16 March 2022 |accessdate=19 March 2022 |archive-date=21 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321073851/https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44797/the-case-of-russias-apparently-back-from-the-dead-black-sea-warship |url-status=live }} when the Ukrainian authorities reported days earlier on 7 March that the Russian patrol boat Vasily Bykov had been damaged by a missile attack by Ukraine,{{cite web |date=7 March 2022 |title=По предварительной информации, сегодня ракетным залпом с побережья Одесской области как минимум поврежден патрульный корабль ЧФ РФ "Василий Быков" |trans-title=According to preliminary information, today a missile salvo from the coast of the Odessa region at least damaged the patrol ship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation "Vasily Bykov" |url=https://www.ukrinform.ru/rubric-ato/3422644-raketnym-zalpom-s-pobereza-odessiny-povrezden-patrulnyj-korabl-cf-rf-vasilij-bykov.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220317005702/https://www.ukrinform.ru/rubric-ato/3422644-raketnym-zalpom-s-pobereza-odessiny-povrezden-patrulnyj-korabl-cf-rf-vasilij-bykov.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=March 17, 2022 |access-date=7 March 2022 |publisher=Ukrinform |language=uk}} they confused it with the Millennial Spirit, as new pictures and footage of the ship intact in Sevastopol appeared on 16 March.