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Work progressing well at Heritage Wharf, Minister

Public Works Minister Trevor Moniz this morning issue a statement saying work is going well at Heritage Wharf.The Minister said: “The residents of Dockyard will be aware that the Norwegian Breakaway is safely docking at Heritage Wharf on a regular basis. We continue with the finishing works to the breasting dolphins and hope to have them cleared and fully fitted out for her next visit on June 5."We are awaiting deliveries of some of the fixing materials early in the week and have communicated all details to the Bermuda Customs officials who have continued to work with us to ensure the job remains on track. This is an example of the effective supply chain network that has formed during the project, the communications and strong partnerships that we have developed we hope will remain to improve the efficiency of future projects."Bermuda will unfortunately be without the visits of the Grandeur of the Seas for the next couple of weeks while she undergoes a refit. During this time we have taken the opportunity with the cooperation of Norwegian Cruise lines to relocate the Norwegian Dawn to Kings Wharf. While we had scheduled effectively to complete works with her in place it is easier for both security and noise constraints if she is placed a little further away from the works."We have made good progress on the northern mooring dolphin over the past week, the majority of the lower 120ft pile lengths are now in and four of the extensions have been welded to make these 180 — 200ft in length. This variance in length is because we have different lengths of cut-off pile from the earlier works that we are reusing and also the fact that the design pile lengths vary. The structural modelling of the dolphins is complex and each pile acts differently depending on how the ship pushes or pulls on the wharf."Because we have an open book contract where we pay for the work done rather than an agreed rate for each foot driven we have been driving beyond the design toe levels at times simply because it is more cost effective to drive the pile for another 15 or 30 minutes than to spend an hour cutting the end of the pipe off which is then wasted material. This way we can drive another five or ten feet at less cost and get a stronger wharf."By the end of next week we should have most of the piles in the northern dolphin driven to toe level or deeper. Generally we are aiming for 180 feet down which means that we are setting the piles in the volcanic rock below the Bermuda Stone deposits that can contain cave features even at great depth."Scheduling of the concrete pours in mid to late June is in progress."