Minister: Work Continues On Heritage Wharf
The Minister of Public Works Trevor Moniz today [May 23] said that work continues on Heritage Wharf with “much progress being made over the past week.”
The topic was much discussed last week, with Parliamentarians sparring over the matter in the House of Assembly.
“The Government of Bermuda was pleased to be in a position where we could welcome the Norwegian Breakaway alongside Heritage Wharf for her maiden voyage,” said Minister Moniz.
“At the time of its arrival the works to the southern breasting dolphin were complete bar the attachment of fenders and bollards and removal of the temporary support structures.
“The works to the northern breasting dolphin, as reported in our previous update, were not quite complete. Even up to the last few days we were hoping to have completed the concrete pours, however heavy winds prevented us from placing the forms in a safe manner so it was decided that it would be sensible to complete these works in the coming week. However, we are pleased to report that they have now been completed safely, the final pour having taken place overnight on Tuesday while the ships rotated their stay.”
The Ministry said, “It should be noted that the concrete used for this work is a high strength mix designed for durability in order to prevent corrosion. This has the added advantage that it reaches the strength required for use of the dock at an early stage, within seven days.
“It should not come as a surprise that the Ministry put in place contingency plans to prior to the vessel’s arrival to ensure that Norwegian Breakaway could dock – and these plans which were discussed previously with the owners of the vessel.
“It should be stressed that the use of the existing dock for the Breakaway does not demonstrate that it is adequate and conforms to international standards. The engineering requirements of the dock are dictated by many factors including both wind direction and strength. Cruise ships can only use the existing dock in low wind speeds. These restrictions mean that the dock could not be used during the majority of the cruise ship season and so would not be acceptable as a viable facility.
“The wind speed and direction limits were discussed with the Captain of the Breakaway and a Bermudian pilot did remain on board in case of unexpected changes in the weather. There was no need to keep the engines running for the entire visit and there was never any fear of risk to the ship. The conditions were simply monitored during the visit.”
The Minister said: “With our primary goals achieved, work has now begun on the construction of the northern mooring dolphin which will upgrade the dock further and closer to its original design strength. A further southern mooring dolphin will be constructed most likely after the end of the cruise ship season to complete the works and bring the dock up to the full 45 knot wind strength required.”
“This week crews have finished work on the breasting dolphins and have set the temporary work piles and the steel frame template for the northern mooring dolphin. Actual piling will commence next week. Vibrating piles into place is a relatively quiet operation and pile driving with the diesel hammer will be restricted to core hours so as to minimise impact on our visitors,” the Ministry said.
“Within the next few weeks the public will see the piling for this structure well underway. Installation of fenders, bollards and safety equipment on both the existing dock and new dolphins will bring them into use and in line with standard guidelines.”
Hey, what do you know, we are still getting updates on the dock works, I’m sure had this been under,former Minister Burgess we would have gotten ‘we had to deceive you’ and ‘we won’t answer plantation questions’. The arrears for water would be still growing too, without an attempt to resolve it.
@ Building a better Bermuda
I guess the Red n Blue Koolaid mix, has you color blind. I really dont give a rats arse how many updates i see from the current UBP Minister.
The facts remain, is that he misled the Bermudian Public in regards to the dock, and IF the dock that was soooooooo badly built by the PLP was no good, then why mate, did they tie the biggest ship ever to come to Bermuda up to it.
Guess that was another lie that the UBP had to use.
If I am drinking red and blue, it must mean I am seeing more than one colour. The OBA should have been straight with the people about how much work is to be done and where we are with that work, I have challenged them in prior blogs about this very points. I have also challenged the PLP and former Minister Burgess to come clean about why the work wasn’t started at the end of last season, when it was needed. Reports show that they knew that the dock was below standards and didn’t meet the requirements. What do you suppose the reason the PLP chose not to proceed immediately after last season to make sure the required works were done or to inform the people that the work was required? Don’t think it had anything to do with an impending election that they truly believed they would win? Do you suppose they had plans in place to start works immediately after the election, and if they did, did they share those plans with the OBA as part of the transition of power? They sat on the situation to avoid the embarrassment in the lead up to the election, once again the PLP shows that it is and was always party before people/country.
As for the state of the dock and the shp docking there, read the statement more thoroughly, they had a contingency in place and had discussed this with Norwegian prior to the first sailing. They will have a pilot on board whenever the ship is berthed there and in bad weather conditions there is still a chance that the Breakaway will have to anchor off the dock, so while they can dock at the existing Heritage Wharf, it will only be under fair weather conditions.
Boil it down, and we face the facts that the works need to be done, and the PLP delayed them for the sake of political self-preservation.
@ stop comp >> Mesled??? Think wind mate, remember? Two Breakaway visits, no wind! The dock is NOT sufficient for bad weather. THINK!
I had to deceive you – PLP
I had to mislead you – OBA
lol. funny.
First of all what is a dolphin?
Seems like the OBA needs to apologise to the PLP because the dock was okay after all. Sure there are more repairs necessary but not to the extent that the OBA originally cried out.
“IF the dock that was soooooooo badly built by the PLP was no good, then why mate, did they tie the biggest ship ever to come to Bermuda up to it”
What a priceless quote from “Stop Complaining for 1 Sec” who clearly did not read this article. The relevant portion I refer to is, ““It should be stressed that the use of the existing dock for the Breakaway does not demonstrate that it is adequate and conforms to international standards. The engineering requirements of the dock are dictated by many factors including both wind direction and strength. Cruise ships can only use the existing dock in low wind speeds. These restrictions mean that the dock could not be used during the majority of the cruise ship season and so would not be acceptable as a viable facility.”
The article goes on to say, “The wind speed and direction limits were discussed with the Captain of the Breakaway and a Bermudian pilot did remain on board in case of unexpected changes in the weather. There was no need to keep the engines running for the entire visit and there was never any fear of risk to the ship (on THIS voyage). The conditions were simply monitored during the visit.”
Wow. What a super strong dock the PLP built! I’m not one for simply lambasting the former Government which did a great job in signing the contract to bring the Breakaway to Bermuda, but even Shadow Minister Burgess admits that work should have startedon upgrading the dock well before the OBA won the election.
If “Stop Complaining for 1 Sec” truly believes that the dock was fine just the way it was then he or she has definitely been drinking the wrong koolaid.
It is indisputable that major upgrades were needed in order to accommodate the Breakaway and that the new Government has made every effort to have the work completed before her maiden voyage, a project that should have been started months before the former Government was defeated on 17th December.
On the other hand perhaps “Stop Complaining for 1 Sec” believes that all this tax payers money being spent on upgrading the dock is a total waste because all we had to do was to keep the pilot on board – and pray for good weather for the whole season! Maybe that’s why we needed a change of Government.