Сәтсіз PacifiCat қайықтары: БК Ferries тарихындағы қателік

Failed fast ferry class operated by BC Ferries

The PacifiCat class of fast ferries was operated from June 1999 to March 2000 by BC Ferries in British Columbia, Canada. Three PacifiCat catamarans Explorer, Discovery, and Voyager were built between 1996 and 2000 as part of a major public project to improve ferry service between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. The first two catamarans were briefly used for revenue service between Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver and Departure Bay in Nanaimo from 1999 to March 2000. The third catamaran, PacifiCat Voyager, was completed in early 2000 but had yet to enter revenue service by the time the project was cancelled. The PacifiCat project started in June 1994 with an estimated total cost of $210 million. By the time the ships were finished, the total cost had ballooned to $463 million. A 1999 report by the Auditor General of British Columbia concluded that the fast ferry project had been beset by "significant breakdowns in both governance and risk management."

Car ferry service on the route between Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver and Departure Bay, Nanaimo had originally been started by the private Black Ball Line in June 1953. Black Ball was purchased by the government of British Columbia on November 30, 1961 and its routes absorbed into the BC Ferries system. Both the Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay ferry terminals are located within residential areas. Departure Bay terminal is located at Vancouver Island's northern tip of their part of the Trans Canada Highway (Nanaimo). Horseshoe Bay is the mainland connection to the Trans Canada Highway freeway. In addition, the Horseshoe Bay terminal is located in a very small cove next to a commercial marina and there have been several collisions between pleasure craft and ferries over the years. The provincial government was aware of these issues as early as 1972, when a Ministry of Highways report recommended developing a new ferry route between Iona Island south of Vancouver and Gabriola Island south of Nanaimo. The truth was that little actual analysis had been done: not even the type of ship (single hull or catamaran), nor their dimensions had even been determined when the $210 million figure was announced. Her colleagues agreed, and the ships were put up for sale at an asking price of $120 million for all three. and were sold to the Washington Marine Group 4.2% of what it cost to build them. Washington Marine Group announced on July 28, 2009 that they had sold the three ships for an undisclosed amount to Abu Dhabi MAR, a luxury yacht builder. The Egyptian government plans to scrap the vessels.

The PacifiCats were designed by Philip Hercus of Australia and Robert Allan Limited of Vancouver. Hercus developed the hull form and Robert Allan handled the outfitting aspects of the design. The PacifiCats were custom designed to fit BC Ferries' docks, which allow simultaneous loading on two full length roll through vehicle decks.