Two of the B次元官网网址渇ast catB次元官网网址� vessels that nearly bankrupted BC Ferries and led to the downfall of the provincial government that approved them ended up sitting idle in a Egyptian harbour.
The catamarans were spotted tied up at the port of Alexandria earlier this year.
In a July 22 post to the message board, B次元官网网址渉ighlanderB次元官网网址� said he saw the pair tied up on a B次元官网网址渓ong jetty beside some naval ships,B次元官网网址� and it looked like they had been sitting idle for some time.
B次元官网网址淭hey look very neglected and COLD STACKED (mothballed) as we say in the oil industry,B次元官网网址� the posting said.
B次元官网网址淭hey just look like two big white elephants covered in dust now.B次元官网网址�
Attempts at contacting the port, which was described as a combined military and commercial operation, were not successful.
There had been reports that the catamarans Pacificat Discovery, Pacificat Explorer and the Pacificat Voyager were going to be used to ferry workers and supplies to oil rigs off the Egyptian coast.
However, B次元官网网址渉ighlander,B次元官网网址� who works in the oil and gas industry, doubted the ships could remain B次元官网网址渙n station,B次元官网网址� holding position in order to load and offload crews and supplies.
Provincial cabinet documents detailing discussions about the fast cats were released under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA) to an unnamed B次元官网网址渞esearcherB次元官网网址� and posted on the B.C. government website.
They show that just before the provincial government decided to dock the ferries and put them up for sale, there was a tentative deal to build two more, smaller catamarans for sale to an American corporation to run between Jamestown, New York and Toronto on the Great Lakes.
That would have required more government subsidies, however, and by then, the project was so deeply mired in debt due to cost overruns that the provincial government decided to cut its losses.
The documents show provincial cabinet ministers were told the B次元官网网址榗atsB次元官网网址�, which were supposed to replace the conventional B次元官网网址淐B次元官网网址� class ferries on the Horsehoe Bay - Departure Bay run, were expensive and unreliable.
B次元官网网址淭he fast ferries have not performed according to original expectations,B次元官网网址� a confidential briefing note observed.
B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� the fast ferries have approximately double the fuel and maintenance costs compared to the C-class vessels.B次元官网网址�
They could not carry heavy commercial and recreational vehicles, and required an B次元官网网址渋ntensive maintenance scheduleB次元官网网址� said the report, which put the cost at $19 million a year more than the C-class ferries.
Opportunities to sell the aluminum catamarans to other fast ferry operators were limited by the fact the B.C.-built ships had been designated B次元官网网址渟heltered waters vessels,B次元官网网址� so they couldnB次元官网网址檛 be used in many locations such as the English Channel and the Irish sea.
ItB次元官网网址檚 estimated the BC Ferry Corporation lost $400 million on the fast ferries.
The controversy over the cost of the failed fast ferry program is considered to be a factor in the defeat of the NDP government of the day and the election of the Liberals, who eventually sold the three ferries in 2003 to the Washington Marine Group for $19.4 million, less than five per cent of what they cost to build.
In 2009, the three vessels were sold to a luxury yacht builder in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf.
A Google Earth satellite image showed them tied up on the dock, and a promotional photo of a luxury yacht showed the dust-covered ferries in the background.
The new owners reportedly planned to operate them as a regional ferry service, but that didnB次元官网网址檛 happen.
In 2014, according to a Wikipedia entry for the fast cats, all three ferries were donated by the U.A.E. to the Egyptian government for use in the oil and gas industry.
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