PacifiCat Series
PacifiCat Explorer, the first of the class, docked at Departure Bay in Nanaimo
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | PacifiCat |
| Builders: | Catamaran Ferries International, North Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Operators: | BC Ferries |
| Preceded by: | Victoria class, Cowichan class |
| Succeeded by: | Coastal class |
| Cost: | $463 million for all three vessels |
| Built: | 1996-2000 |
| In service: | 1999-2000 |
| Planned: | 3 |
| Completed: | 3 |
| Retired: | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | High-speed passenger ferry |
| Tonnage: | 9,022 tonnes |
| 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: | Four MTU 20V1163 TB3 diesel engines, 6,500 kW (8,700 hp) each, powering four KaMeWa 112 SII water jets. |
| Speed: |
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| Capacity: |
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The PacifiCat class of fast ferries was operated from 1999 to 2000 by BC Ferries in British Columbia, Canada. Three PacifiCat catamarans were built between 1996 and 2000 as part of a major public project which ultimately failed: PacifiCat Explorer (launched 1998), PacifiCat Discovery (launched 1999), and PacifiCat Voyager (launched 2000). Explorer and Discovery were briefly used for revenue service between Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver and Departure Bay in Nanaimo. The third ship in the class, PacifiCat Voyager, was completed but never entered the BC Ferries fleet. The PacifiCat project started in June, 1994 with an estimated total cost of $210 million. By the time the ships were finished, it had actually cost $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, 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. Another report recommending the same solution was produced in 1988. This proposed route is 22 kilometres shorter than the current route and would have also eliminated the problems with ferry terminal traffic. Ultimately, the government did build a new ferry terminal for Nanaimo: Duke Point, which opened in 1997 and which serves as terminus for the ferry route from Tsawwassen. Duke Point was intended to divert truck traffic away from the Horsesehoe Bay-Departure Bay route. This situation was the starting point from which the fast ferry project developed.
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