Classification agency’s late introduction blamed for Bluenose II delays

LUNENBURG, NS — Bluenose II’s reconstruction delays and multi-million dollar budget overages are largely to blame on the province’s decision to hire an inspector after the ship’s designs were already drawn up.

The inspector — the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) — should have been introduced earlier in the process to avoid costly retroactive changes, sources say.

The Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage awarded at least three major contracts for companies to work on the Bluenose II.

Along with hiring project managers and a group of Lunenburg shipbuilders, the province also paid Lengkeek Vessel Engineering $440,000 to design construction plans for the new Bluenose II, signing the contract December 2009. 

Sources close to the construction process and officials from the department confirm that ABS was hired after the ship’s designs were considered complete.

Generally classification societies are hired early in the creation of a new ship to collaborate in the design process.

ABS is among about a dozen international classification societies  offering expertise and instruction on ship construction and maintenance. Many corporations and insurance companies require that ships are classed to ensure they are built and operated safely.

“It’s useful, it’s warranted and it’s a good idea to engage the classification society early on, indeed even at a design stage,” says Jeffrey J. Smith, chair of the Canadian Institute of Marine Engineering.

Smith says hiring a classification society after designs are complete can cause problems and delays.

Changes requested by ABS require a multi-stage approval process, including rubber-stamps from project managers and the province, causing construction delays.

Sources say seeking out items as simple as electronic wiring can cause problems. The designers called for standard, industry-grade wiring. However ABS requested that wiring be sourced from a specific manufacturer. The builders contacted that manufacturer and drew up an invoice, along with a request to the province to change the designs. When all the new wiring changes were approved by ABS and government, the builder returned to the manufacturer only to find they were out of stock.

Many of the changes, like wiring, will delay the process and increase the cost. Some, however, will alter the ship’s performance.

Rather than a wooden rudder, ABS requested a metal one, along with metal braces along the hull, resulting in the heaviest version of the schooner yet.

The heavier construction could greatly detract from the ship’s performance in sea trials after its expected completion this summer. However, officials say there’s no doubt she will eventually pass the tests.

Unlike the original Bluenose, renowned for being fast, nimble and elegant, sources say when this new heavier version finally does hit the water — more than four years into its two-year construction plan — its sea trials will reveal a schooner that’s a slow, sluggish shadow of its former self.