The work will take weeks and create hundreds of jobs. The repairs will take place at a ship yard off Pier 70 and the work has already begun. The Splendor sailed from San Diego under its own power, but two tugboats accompanied the ship as a precaution.
During the 4-6 weeks in San Francisco Bay, the Splendor will be getting a new diesel generator and two alternators. All the repair work stems from a fire that took place on board the ship in November. Fire broke out in the engine room and for four days, the ship had no power and no working plumbing.
BAE Systems is the company in charge of the repair work. They say this is a great opportunity for them and for the city. 125 extra jobs have been created as a result of the project and the ship is already somewhat of a tourist attraction. People have been stopping by to take a look, including one man who was on that nightmare cruise in November.
"Since I live so close in Pleasant Hill, I just thought I'd come and check it out to bring back all the memories," Matt Marinelli told ABC7. "It's just cool to see that it's finally getting fixed."
San Francisco is the only city on the West Coast with a dry dock large enough to accommodate ships like the Carnival Splendor, which is why it will be there for the next several weeks.
Carnival is eager to get the ship back up and running. It already had to cancel 14 one-week voyages to Mexico but hopes to resume service February 20.
The Splendor is the second largest ship in the Carnival line. It weighs in at 113,000 tons, has 13 decks, and is 952 feet long. The ship can carry 3,000 passengers and 1,500 staff members.
