The cruise ship Pride of America looms large on blocks at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, getting a $7 million maintenance make-over and setting a record as the largest privately owned vessel to be drydocked there.

The bulk of the cost — $4.1 million — is for repair and maintenance work being done by contractor BAE Systems Hawaii Shipyards as part of a private-public partnership that allows the company to work on civilian ships at Pearl Harbor, said Roger Kubischta, president and general manager of the Hawai'i operation. The ship's owner, NCL America, also is making other improvements, including upgrades to the vessel's interior.

Normally, the company works on Navy ships at the military shipyard. But the Baltimore-based company bid on the job to be done at Pearl Harbor under a federal law that allows a Department of Defense industrial facility to do commercial work "that is compatible with the mission of the government activity."

The work was scheduled when the drydock wasn't needed for Navy ship maintenance and BAE Systems reimbursed the shipyard for the use of the drydock, Kubischta said.

The 85,000-ton, 921-foot-long, 105-foot-wide Pride of America is nearly as big as an aircraft carrier. The work is being done quickly, with crews working around the clock in two 12-hour shifts daily to complete it in 13 days, Kubischta said. "It's the largest commercial vessel ever (dry) docked here in Hawai'i."

The festive-painted hull sticks out from the businesslike military backdrop of Pearl Harbor shipyard, like a bright party dress in a sea of gray suits.

He said about 400 people are working on the exterior and mechanical services to the vessel, 150 from his company directly and the others from contractors. The work includes hull inspection, painting, propeller replacement, fin stabilizer refurbishment, engine room work, piping, cleaning and more.

"This is like working on a luxury car," Kubischta said. "A Navy ship is more like working on a race car" — both require quality work but the military requires high performance standards as well.

Getting the job done in Hawai'i works well for the cruise ship, too, said Alan Yamamoto, vice president of Hawai'i operations for NCL America.

This is the first drydock since the ship arrived in Hawai'i in 2005, Yamamoto said. While BAE Systems and contractors work outside, he said about 1,000 people are working inside, renovating the vessel and staterooms.

Yamamoto said the interior work includes carpet, paint and tile work. "We almost have a full complement of crew onboard," he said, who work during the day, have nights off but live aboard.

The Miami-based cruise-ship company has been scaling back on Hawai'i operations, going from an ambitious three ships cruising interisland trips year-round down to one as of this month. The Pride of Hawaii left in February for a new name and new route in Europe and The Pride of Aloha is scheduled to leave Hawai'i on May 11 to sail in Asia under a new name.

The Pride of America pulled into drydock on Saturday, an eight-hour job to line up the vessel precisely over the cement support blocks.

Yamamoto said the work is scheduled to be completed in 13 days so the ship can be picking up cruise passengers on May 10, the day before the second sister ship leaves the Islands.

"We actually timed it so that we would still have a vessel in operation with our Hawai'i itinerary," Yamamoto said. Cruise prices had dropped with foreign-flagged cruise ships competing in Hawai'i.

But Yamamoto said the company is hopeful about continuing. "We expect to be profitable with a one-vessel scenario," he said.

And he said the company was pleased the $7 million repair job could be done locally, saving time on getting the vessel back in service and demonstrating another economic benefit to the Islands.

At the three-ship peak, the ships carried a total crew of nearly 3,000 employees. After Pride of Aloha leaves, the number of crew members here will drop to more than 900.

Federal law requires the Coast Guard inspection and other work be done in two drydock sessions during a five-year period with no more than three years between sessions, Yamamoto said. So his company also scheduled other maintenance work at the same time to make best use of the down time.

Victor Rhoades, director of operations for BAE Systems Hawaii, said the intensive work schedule allows the work to be completed quickly.

"If this were a Honolulu hotel, they'd shut it down for six months."