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FEBRUARY 5, 199

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North Shore Free Press Lit Pubistier Peter Soeck.
1739 Lonsdaie Avenue North Vancouver BC WTR 24S
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80 Pages

NEWS photo Paul McGrath

Go ski racer

AN up-and-coming skier tucks by a gate during Nancy Greene Ski League racing atop Mount
Seymour last Saturday. The next race day is set for Feb. 13 at the North Vancouver mountain.

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This Week 013

WWW.nsnews.com FREE

roject gets third CEO in three weeks

Rabert Galster
News Reporter robert@nsnews.com

NOTHING is as it seems when it comes to the

so-called fast ferry project.

Grossly over-budget and over-weight, the former pride of B.C.'s ship-
building industry sits idly moored near its birthplace in North Vancouver.

In fess than a month, BC Ferries and its subsidiary responsible for the
construction of the Pacificats Catamaran Ferries International (CFL) have
had two presidents fired.

Ac the start of the year, the Crown corporation was headed by North
Vancouver resident Tom Ward.

He resigned trom: his post as president and CEO of BC Ferries and CFI
on Jan. 17 after reports of vast cost overruns surfaced, [t became apparent
the cost of the first of three Pacificats has ballooned from an originally fore-
cast $70 million to a projected SE13 million.

His inmediately named successor Philip Halkett, a career civil servant,
ordered a complete financial audit of the true and exact cost of the pro-
gram. He also ordered an internal operational performance audit to address
rumors the fast ferry would net be able to shave the advertised 30 minutes
trom the current one hour and 35-minute voyage between Harseshoe Bay
to Nanaimo.

The reports outlining the ship's possible mechanical deficiencies were,
for the first ime, acknowledged by deputy premice and then-minister
responsible for BC Ferries Dan Miller.

Although the Paciticat reached speeds of 40 knots (approximately 74
kim-h) during tests last summer, its engines were apparently damaged in the
exercise. The vessel was carrying three-quarters of its weight capacity.

The spodight on the project did not dim in the ensuing days as Premier
Glen Clark made a surprise announcement on Jan. 29 of Progressive
Democratic Alliance leader Gordon Wilson joining the New Densocratic
Party ranks as, among other things, the minister responsible for BC Ferries.

Wilson, a long-time critic of BC Ferries and the fast ferry project,
promised to right the listing program.

On Tuesday, Halkett’s technical report was produced and appeared to
rest fears of a vessel too slow, However, the review turned out to be flawed
in that it assumed the vessel was capable of reaching cruising speeds of up
to 100 km-h and docking at the ludicrous speed of 56 km-h in order to
shave the promised 30 minutes off the Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo ferry
run.

On Wednesday, Wilson responded by firing Halkett and appointing BC
Transit president Bob Lingwood as the corporation’s new CEO and presi-
dent.

In addition to ordering a new review of the vessel’s technical capabilities,
Wilson admitted that there were several new deficiencies in the first vessel,

These include malfunction of the ship's onboard computer system and

See Uuaro page §

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