Tootfinder

On the new BC Ferries being built in China.
Do we all remember the last time the BC NDP went down the road of “building a shipbuilding industry to build ferries”?
It has its own Wiki, of course.
"In addition to major delays and cost overruns, the ferries never fully met their original specifications, and only operated briefly in a reduced capacity, before being auctioned off at a substantial loss by the subsequently elected BC Liberal Party government.”
No, I'm not thrilled that China, an authoritarian state, is going to be building these ferries. But no BC or Canadian firms bid on the contract. And right now, the expertise in ship building is in China and Europe (the Island and Salish class vessels were built in Europe).
I don't blame the NDP for not repeating the same mistake 30 years later.
And the ferries will still be refit and maintained for their full service life within BC.
#BCPoli #BCNDP #FastFerry #Shipbuilding.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_ferry_scandal

The small Island Class vessels (2019-2021) were built in Romania by Dutch firm Damen Shipbuilding: #BCPoli #BCNDP #FastFerry #Shipbuilding

And if you're wondering what happened to those three Fast Cats.
In January 2024 someone tried to get someone to buy them by putting them up on Facebook Marketplace (yep!) for $15 Million for all three. (98% off original price lol). They were, and likely still are, sitting tied up in Alexandria, Egypt. They were last owned by the Egyptian Government.
At least one of them was essentially unchanged inside since the 1990s. (a Nanaimo Bar for $1.5!)
#BCPoli #BCNDP #FastFerry #Shipbuilding