Lost steel forces Ogden Point to use original plan for ship dock

It’s back to Plan A for the extended-mooring-dolphin project at Ogden Point.

The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority had ordered huge steel pilings from China to be used to tie up new larger ships at Pier B in time for this year’s cruise season. They were to be the mainstay of the $6.8-million extension project.

But in early December, the 200-foot-long sections, weighing 362 tonnes in total, took a dive off a cargo ship coming from China during rough seas and settled on the seabed about 250 nautical miles from our shores.

As a result, the Harbour Authority announced last month it was rejigging its plans and would instead build an extension with smaller replacement pilings to be purchased within North America. This plan would have boosted the project’s value by $3 million to about $4 million.

But on Tuesday, the Harbour Authority said the revised plan was not going ahead after all and it is reverting to the original design.

It has re-ordered the 10-footdiameter pilings through its contractor, which is responsible for supplying the steel. The replacement steel is expected to arrive in late summer — again from China.

The extension is slated to be completed in time for the 2020 cruise season. It will come in at close to the original budget, said Ian Robertson, Harbour Authority chief executive.

It was not possible to find smaller 36-inch-diameter piles for the revised project, he said.

“The requirements for steel were stringent, with safety and long-term stability of utmost concern. Unfortunately, no pre-cast steel that met these standards was available through any North American supplier.”

The B.C. Pilots Association and Royal Caribbean International carried out tests at Pier A on Friday and it has been decided that for this summer, the Ovation of the Seas will stop at Pier A, Robertson said.

Royal Caribbean is involved because the extension was to accommodate Ovation of the Seas, which is making its first stop in Victoria on May 12. That vessel will become the largest cruise ship to moor at Ogden Point.

It is 1,140 feet long and carries 4,900 passengers.

The first cruise ship of the season is the Emerald Princess, set to arrive at 7 a.m. on April 12.