Heritage Wharf upgrades have been delayed after wake from a passing vessel damaged a crane.

As a result, boats passing near the West End facility have been asked to cut their speed — and marine police will be keeping watch.

Public Works Minister Trevor Moniz called the wharf construction “critical to the Country”.

For the safety of workers, he urged all craft, commercial and public, to avoid sending out a wake near the site.

Mr Moniz said only “superficial” damage had been inflicted to the dock — but the crane cannot be used until after repairs.

Spare parts are being flown in, he said, with the hope of keeping delays to less than a week.

In the meantime, work will focus elsewhere — such as the structures, known as breasting dolphins, used in the berthing and mooring of ships.

The Minister said workers would “redouble efforts on the northern breasting dolphin” in a few days’ time.

“Fourteen of the 16 permanent works piles in the southern dolphin are now in place and before we were forced to stop works on the north, we had placed eight piles. Work will concentrate on welding extensions in the coming week and completion of driving of the piles on these structures.”

Mr Moniz said workers had concreted the precast for the breasting dolphins on schedule, and were now putting together steel reinforcement for the main structures.

“This steel mat is being prepared off-site to save time and will be transported by barge and lifted into place with the cranes once the piling operation is complete.”

He added: “Visitors to Dockyard will have seen the erection of a structure in the ground transportation area near the site. This complicated set-up is for a pile test that must be carried out in order to confirm the design calculations and geotechnical drilling information that allows the Ministry to be certain of the strength of the piled foundations.”

The test requires uses a 275-ton jack to load the test pile, and measure its movement under load.

“The pile has been driven in the ground transportation area for ease of construction. It is a 24in diameter pile that is driven in to 145ft inside a 30in casing that has been cleaned out to the seabed level so that we simulate the conditions of the permanent works piles.

“The Ministry is using the floating docks from St George’s that were washed away during Hurricane Fabian for counterweight, to jack against and these will be filled with water. After the test we will be reusing these floats in a maintenance programme for the ferry docks and for a temporary berthing space inside Dockyard.

“The pile test will be completed next week and the equipment used there will be redeployed to hasten the permanent works construction.”

In spite of the setback, Mr Moniz said the Ministry remained confident that “we will deliver a structure that befits a ship of the stature of the

Norwegian Breakaway, and that the dock will be prepared to receive this ship from its maiden voyage on May 15 this year”.