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Article: Course correction: BC Ferries shakes off provincial oversight.(CoverStory)
- Article from:
- Workboat
- Article date:
- November 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Diversified Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The "old" BC Ferries effectively ran aground when the PacifiCats were tied up before the third and final ferry even entered .service. Plagued by huge cost overruns and construction delays, the three fast catamarans had been heavily promoted by the British Columbia provincial government as the key to better ferry service and the foundation of a new shipbuilding industry for the province.
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A government-run and taxpayer-financed project, the PacifiCats became a political football that was kicked around for years until the ferries were finally sold at auction in 2003 for pennies on the dollar. Washington Marine Group, part of a ...