High winds prevented crews from completing upgrades to Heritage Wharf in time for last week’s inaugural arrival of the Norwegian Breakaway, according to a statement from the Ministry of Public Works.A decision to moor the super liner at the old dock was made following talks with the vessel’s owners Norwegian Cruise Lines, Public Works Minister Trevor Moniz said.Upgrade work on the wharf began in March after engineers concluded that it was not strong enough to accommodate mega-ships such as Breakaway. Government hoped that, despite the tight deadline, the revamped wharf would be ready in time for Breakaway’s arrival on May 15.“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,” Mr Moniz said in a statement released on Thursday afternoon.“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.”A “high-strength mix” concrete used to complete the work should make the dock ready for use “within seven days”, the Minister said.A Government spokeswoman added that the Ministry had put in place contingency plans prior to the vessel’s arrival to ensure that Breakaway could dock — and these plans were discussed previously with the owners of the vessel.And the spokeswoman 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,” the spokeswoman said.“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.”Construction work has begun on the northern mooring dolphin, which will bring the dock “closer to its original design strength”, Mr Moniz added.“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.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.