On June 20, a handful of patrons at Myett’s Chill Zone watched the cargo ship Warren’s Pride pull up near the cruise dock, carrying with it a marine excavator and thousands of pounds of boulders.
Like a stuffed-animal claw machine, the excavator struggled to grasp the giant stones at first, until the machine’s operator finally managed to pick up one and gently plop it into the water. One by one, the excavator continued over the next several hours, until the entire load of rocks was resting on the seafloor.
Mr. Henley explained that the firms were adding boulders to the revetment along the pier park and the area south of the Central Administration Building, in order to prevent that reclaimed land from eroding back into Road Harbour.
The work was especially needed near the dock, he said, due to the cruise ships kicking up sediment with their propellers, which can span more than 15 feet in diameter.
“Part of our protective designs called for a rock mattress on either side of the pier to prevent revetment from backwash when cruise ships power up to leave,” he said, adding that a rock mattress was originally put in place, but “it wasn’t done to our expectations, as highlighted by last November.”
The firms shored up the area by the Central Administration Building soon after last November’s inspection, he said, but the work closer to the pier had to wait until slow season arrived and cruise ships weren’t docked there nearly every day.
Mr. Henley added that the work was done at no extra cost to government.
“Like with every contract, there’s a period you have to report any defects, so we’re going through the defect-notification period now,” he said.
IDL and Meridian did not respond to requests for comment before this issue’s press deadline.
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