Building of the PacifiCat Ferries (Part 5/6)

The PacifiCat Series or Fast Cat fast ferries were operated from 1999 to 2000 by BC Ferries. This program chronicles the construction of the first and second of the three Pacificat ferries. It's obviously very biased, as the ferries were a spectacular failure on several levels, but what can you expect when the documentary is funded by the companies involved? Regardless, this is some great, and rare, footage. The title used in the intro screen is the official title, as best I can tell.

The first 5-10 minutes is missing, but I believe it is just a summary of the ferry system in British Columbia, which is easily found on Wikipedia, if one is so inclined. Unfortunately taping (this was broadcast in 1999 or 2000, so a VCR was used; you can see tracking in various places, as well as occasional video glitches which are present on the hard copy) began only after I realized this might be pretty interesting to watch.

The ferries were auctioned off in 2003 by the government of BC for $20 million CAD to the Washington Marine Group. The ferries cost $460 million CAD to build. WMG had offered $60 million prior to the auction. WMG sold the ferries to a company in the UAE, in July 2009.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Ferry_Scandal

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• ferry
• ferries
• british columbia
• bc
• catamaran
• pacificat
• fast cat
• bc ferries
• glen clark
• ship building
• washington marine group

[ronmann606]

EPIC FAIL

[kr192101]

I was at waterfront park at the time when it launched. Glen Clark's wife looked nervous. Then, Whack! What ever happened to John Wells, Hank Bekkering, Wayne Williams? (That's who it was.) I wanna try that simulator. That looks fun! Is Captain Trafford Taylor still working for BC Ferries? Is Avcorp still in Delta? Again they've should've waited until the 1st ship did more test. You can also see it on 7:03 where the end bit of the "Queen of the North" sank on Gill Island.

[BCLibFan]

Shame these good boats didn't fit w/ BC Ferries and had such a bad design as to wake wash. Otherwise, they were the best of BC & the 1990s.

[360shon]

man what a boondogle govt venture!