Bluenose II documents shed light on certification decision

There's new information that offers some insight about why the province chose the American Bureau of Shipping to set the standard for the rebuild of the Bluenose II, now almost three years late and millions of dollars over budget.

ABS required a steel rudder that turned out to be too heavy for the wooden schooner.

Correspondence between the province and the ship's designer, obtained through Freedom of Information laws, reveals that the other bidder, Lloyd's Register, appeared to lose interest in the job.

In February 2010 the ship's designer told the government the Bluenose II could be rebuilt under rules supplied by either Lloyd's Register or ABS.

The memo from Lengkeek Engineering indicates it had a long working relationship with Lloyd's and its rules on yachts would cover a ship the size of the Bluenose II.

The same memo said ABS rules on wooden boats would be "very good" for the Bluenose,while its rules around yachts would need to be "extrapolated."

Two months later, in another memo, Lengkeek reported that ABS had dropped its price.

In June 2014, Lloyd's Register told CBC News "we bid for the contract and we were advised that we had lost on price."

More significantly, considering the subsequent problems associated with the ship's steering system, aMay 2010 memo said that "[Lloyd's Register] has been very slow to respond to our request for a formal proposal and it is expected that since the sinking of the sailing vessel 'Concordia,' [Lloyd's] is not as keen anymore in the project."

Concordia was a tall ship insured by Lloyd's that sank suddenly off the coast of Brazil a few months earlier.

The recommendation for which firm the government decided uponis blacked out.

CBC has learned the Lloyd's bid was $40,000higher.

The final cost of the province's decision to award the classification job to ABS won't be known until the ship is sailing.