PacifiCat-class ferry
PacifiCat Explorer, the first of the class, docked at Departure Bay in Nanaimo | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | PacifiCat |
| Builders | Catamaran Ferries International, North Vancouver |
| Operators | BC Ferries |
| Preceded by | Victoria class, Cowichan class |
| Succeeded by | Coastal class |
| Cost | |
| Built | 1996–2000 |
| In service | 1999–2000 |
| Planned | 3 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Retired | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | High-speed passenger ferry |
| Tonnage | 9,022 GT |
| Displacement | 1,885 tonnes |
| Length | 122.5 m (401.9 ft) |
| Beam | 25.8 m (84.6 ft) |
| Draught | 3.76 m (12.3 ft) |
| Propulsion |
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| Speed |
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| Capacity |
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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.: 151–152 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.": 5