A million-dollar yacht went up in flames Monday morning in Dartmouth, N.S., as workers began the final phase of its construction.

The 16-metre aluminum yacht, under construction in a building on the Dartmouth waterfront owned by Yachtsmiths International Inc. of Halifax, caught fire around 10:15 a.m. after a spark from welding equipment flew onto a nearby bag of garbage containing some foam insulation, workers told CBC News.

Smoke billows Monday from the building where the yacht had been under construction on the Dartmouth waterfront.
(CBC)

The boat, being built for an American owner, was heavily damaged.

Three workers were unable to put the fire out with an extinguisher. Thick smoke, which billowed out across Halifax harbour, forced the men to flee the building. No one was injured.

A second yacht was also in the building at the time of the fire.

Dave Meldrum, a divisional captain with the Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Service, said a sprinkler system in the building helped stop the spread of the blaze.

According to the company's website, the company is currently building a 13-metre aluminum schooner, a 14-metre steel trawler yacht and a 16-metre aluminum trawler.

Also under construction are a fiberglass nine-metre Gaski Express cruiser, a fibreglass nine-metre Gaski commercial fisher, and a fibreglass Cabot 36 Pilot House Blue Water Sailor.

Yachtsmith's primary market is the Atlantic seaboard of the United States, with secondary markets along the Atlantic coast of Europe and beyond.