Carnival Splendor to Leave Port of San Diego for Further Repair

Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Contact: Barbara J. Moreno (619) 686-6216; John Gilmore (619) 341-5684, (619) 686-7206

Two months after it was towed into the Port of San Diego, the cruise ship Carnival Splendor is on the move again.

Carnival Splendor will leave the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal Wednesday, January 19, around 2 p.m., and sail under its own power to a dry dock facility in San Francisco where repairs will be completed, officials with Carnival Cruise Lines announced.

Carnival Splendor has been out of service since November 8, 2010, when a fire broke out in the ship's engine room during a cruise to the Mexican Riviera. The 952-foot vessel was left without power while offshore of Ensenada.

With more than 3,000 passengers aboard, Splendor had to be towed by tug boats into San Diego Bay, on November 11, 2010, led by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Passengers disembarked at the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal and the ship was then moved to the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal on November 18, 2010 for the industrial portion of the repairs.

"It's really a testament of how San Diego came together – including the Port of San Diego to assist an important customer, Carnival Cruise Lines," said Joel Valenzuela, Director of the Port's Maritime Operations. "It required working with all of our partners, and our customer base at the cargo terminal – to coordinate shipments of goods and space allocation for imports while the Splendor was under repair."

"Splendor's departure marks an end to what was an extraordinarily cooperative effort by the Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Port of San Diego, and various other port partners," said Lt. Ken Morton, Sector San Diego Chief of Inspections. "Events such as this are rare, and all parties involved are working intensely to ensure they capitalize on every opportunity to make them even more so."

Carnival Splendor will be accompanied by two tugs as a safety precaution during its multi-day voyage north, according to Coast Guard officials.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Carnival Cruise Lines said the ship is scheduled to re-enter service February 20, 2011.

Carnival Splendor operates year-round seven-day Mexican Riviera voyages from Long Beach.