BC Ferries' PacifiCat fast ferries could be turned into hospital ships | Daily Hive

BC Ferries' failed PacifiCat fast ferries could be turned into hospital ships

2023 condition of BC Ferries' former Pacificat fast ferries in Egypt. (Ehab El Nemr/Submitted)

Almost exactly one year ago, in January 2024, North Vancouver-based trade consultant and strategist Robert Arthurs was tasked by the current Egyptian owners of the three Pacificat fast ferries to find a buyer for the ships.

As Daily Hive Urbanized reported nearly one year ago, the Egyptian owners wanted to avoid scrapping the three former BC Ferries ships, believing the vessels were nowhere near the end of their lifespan and could be retrofitted for a new use.

The Egyptian military subsequently gave the vessels — currently docked at a port city in the Mediterranean Sea — a temporary reprieve from the salvage yard, and tasked Arthurs with finding a new owner committed to rehabilitating the ships.

The Egyptian owners also estimated they could fetch similar prices from either salvaging the aluminum — given that global market prices for aluminum have soared in recent years — or selling the vessels.

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Arthurs was originally given a one-year deadline, ending in January 2025, to find a buyer.

But that deadline will now be extended to enable continued negotiations with an interested party.

Upon inquiry, Arthurs told Daily Hive Urbanized today that a group from the United States is in serious discussions to buy the fast ferries vessels for conversion into civilian hospital ships. Such “mercy ships” typically provide medical care and humanitarian aid in regions of the world affected by natural disasters, conflict, or poverty.

Two of BC Ferries’ old PacifiCat ferries at Abu Qir, Egypt in 2019. (Google Maps)

bc ferries pacificat fast ferries egypt 2023

Exterior; 2023 condition of BC Ferries’ former Pacificat fast ferries. (Ehab El Nemr/Submitted)

He says this American group had originally only considered buying and converting one of the three vessels into a hospital ship, and they previously temporarily stepped away due to the high costs of transporting the vessels out of Egypt. The estimated cost for transporting the PacifiCats out of Egypt is between US$3 million and US$5 million (C$4.3 million to C$7.2 million) per ship.

From the outset, the Egyptian owners had an asking purchase price of US$15 million (C$21.7 million) for each vessel or US$45 million (C$65 million) for all three together.

The interested American group recently returned to the table with a plan to transport the vessels to a shipyard in Morocco for the required retrofits, instead of moving them all the way to a shipyard in South Korea to perform such work.

“The situation remains fluid due to shipping challenges and the broader regional conflicts, which continue to create complexities. Negotiations with the Egyptian Navy are progressing positively overall, but as with any deal of this nature, new stakeholders and obstacles occasionally arise, requiring adjustments,” Arthurs told Daily Hive Urbanized.

“The Fast Cat Ferries are still alive and hopefully have a second life,” he added.

In 2009, a large heavy-lift ship was used to transport the PacifiCat ferries from Vancouver to Abu Dhabi, the homebase of their new owner, Abu Dhabi Mar. (Michael Chu/Flickr)

Exterior; 2023 condition of BC Ferries’ former Pacificat fast ferries. (Ehab El Nemr/Submitted)

Various recent global shipbuilding industry media reports suggest that record-high prices for building brand new ships have led to a drastically increased overall demand for the second-hand ship market, with retrofits of older vessels being more economical and quicker than ordering new-build vessels. This is due to the pandemic-induced global escalation in market prices for labour, materials, and equipment, as well as a steep increase in new-build ship orders compared to the years before the pandemic. According to shipping association BIMCO, as of 2024, the rate of growth in prices for new-build ships has risen to their highest level in 16 years, with prices up by 53% compared to late 2020.

Based on their original design specifications for BC Ferries, each 402-ft-long PacifiCat-class fast ferries vessel can carry 1,000 passengers and crew and up to 250 vehicles. Their maximum operating speed is 63 km/hr (34 knots).

After major delays and cost overruns, these infamous vessels saw a staggered completion between 1998 and 2000 for a combined total cost of about C$446 million (C$747 million in 2025 dollars).

The political fallout over the cost overruns contributed to the collapse of the BC NDP-led provincial government at the time, and it also cast a long shadow over the viability of growing the local shipbuilding industry in BC.

Exterior; 2023 condition of BC Ferries’ former Pacificat fast ferries. (Ehab El Nemr/Submitted)

All three vessels — named PacifiCat Discovery, PacifiCat Explorer, and PacifiCat Voyager — passed through multiple ownership hands over the decades, following BC Ferries’ very brief use of the vessels and the BC Liberals-led government’s 2003 decision to sell the vessels in an auction to Washington Marine Group (WMG) for C$19.4 million (C$30.5 million in 2025 dollars). The fast ferries remained berthed in North Vancouver until 2009, when WMG sold the vessels to Abu Dhabi Mar for an undisclosed amount. Some time later, the vessels fell under the ownership of the Egyptian military, and were never put to use.

A quarter century ago, it was stated that these vessels had to operate at slower speeds — similar to the speeds of BC Ferries’ conventional ships — to lower their high fuel consumption costs and reduce the size of their big wakes on shorelines.

The conditions of the BC coast also made the vessels unreliable, as logs and other debris unique to local waters sucked into the catamaran impellers, and caused breakdowns and cancelled sailings.

Interior; 2023 condition of BC Ferries’ former Pacificat fast ferries. (Ehab El Nemr/Submitted)

Cafe; 2023 condition of BC Ferries’ former Pacificat fast ferries. (Ehab El Nemr/Submitted)

Interior; 2023 condition of BC Ferries’ former Pacificat fast ferries. (Ehab El Nemr/Submitted)

There were also challenges with using these ferries to transport cargo trucks due to the low-ceiling clearances of the car decks compared to conventional ferries.

Loading and unloading times were longer with the PacifiCats compared to conventional ferries, as the lightweight ferries had to be properly balanced during the process. And unlike the double-ended conventional ferries, the single-ended PacifiCats had to turn around at the terminal before sailing.

Additionally, passengers used to the spacious interior and outdoor decks of BC Ferries’ conventional ferries were not accustomed to the comparably tighter design and layout of the PacifiCats.

Prior to the provincial government’s 2003 decision to dispose of the PacifiCats-class fleet of vessels, a public consultation resulted in suggestions of turning the vessels into cruise ships, hospital ships, schools, or even casinos.

Cafe; 2023 condition of BC Ferries’ former Pacificat fast ferries. (Ehab El Nemr/Submitted)

Washrooms; 2023 condition of BC Ferries’ former Pacificat fast ferries. (Ehab El Nemr/Submitted)

Car deck; 2023 condition of BC Ferries’ former Pacificat fast ferries. (Ehab El Nemr/Submitted)

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