Advertisement

UPDATED: Bluenose file was given to wrong department: Darrow

HALIFAX – The senior bureaucrat in charge of the restoration of the Bluenose II says one of the main problems plaguing the project is that the wrong government department was chosen to oversee the work.

David Darrow, the premier’s deputy minister, says the Department of Culture and Heritage doesn’t have the experts in place to manage such a complex capital project.

READ MORE: Bluenose II will not open to public until 2015: McNeil

Darrow says the Transport Department should have been put in charge when the project started because it has extensive engineering experience.

UPDATED: Bluenose file was given to wrong department: Darrow - image

He also says a decision by the previous NDP government to have the famed schooner meet the safety standards of the American Bureau of Shipping was a good idea, but the marine agency should have been brought in when the project started and not almost two years later.

Story continues below advertisement

Darrow says the steering mechanism that has put the project behind schedule should be upgraded with hydraulics and completed by late October.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said the steering mechanism upgrades would be complete within 10 days. It has since been corrected to reflect the fact it will be completed by late October.

Sponsored content

AdChoices