Bluenose II, is shown in Lunenburg, N.S., on Sept. 28, 2012.ANDREW VAUGHAN/The Canadian Press
The delays and cost overruns plaguing the restoration of the Bluenose II stem from Nova Scotia's decision to hand the job to a government department that had little experience managing construction projects, the province's Auditor-General says.
In a report released Wednesday, Michael Pickup says the Heritage Department's supervision of the project was undermined by a lack of planning and weak management.
When the restoration was announced in 2009, it was estimated to cost $14.4-million. But Pickup says that has grown to $20-million, with $4-million to $5-million on top of that in dispute.
Pickup's audit says the department didn't define the responsibilities for contractors, failed to prepare a proper budget and drafted a weak construction contract that didn't include penalties for blown deadlines.
"The department did not include key details concerning project expectations in the contracts signed with the project manager and the designer," the report says.
"The contracts did not include penalty clauses and were routinely extended throughout the life of the project. There was no monetary incentive in the contracts to complete the project in a timely manner."
A new set of problems arose when the decision was made to have the project comply with rules set by the American Bureau of Shipping, an international safety classification society, because the department did not adequately address how that would affect deadlines and rising costs, the report says.
In particular, the installation of a steel rudder as required by the American agency took far longer than expected and continue to cost the province more money, Pickup says.
Consultant Wilson Fitt was called in to fix the steering last June after it was revealed the schooner's three-tonne rudder was too heavy to turn manually. A new hydraulic system was completed last month, but the final costs have yet to be calculated.
Premier Stephen McNeil asked Pickup to investigate the restoration a year ago, calling it a "boondoggle."
McNeil put David Darrow, his deputy minister, in charge of fixing the project. Darrow also concluded the wrong department was chosen to oversee the work and said the Transportation Department should have managed it.
The Bluenose II was supposed to return to sailing in the summer of 2012 after an extensive two-year rebuild that had a budget of $14.4-million, about half of which was to come from the federal government.
The 43-metre vessel, launched in 1963, is a replica of the original Bluenose, the 1921 Grand Banks fishing schooner that won worldwide acclaim for its graceful lines and speed.