Three PacifiCat catamarans - Explorer, Discovery, and Voyager - were built between 1996 and 2000 as part of a major public project to improve ferry service between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.

[2]: 151–152  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.

Black Ball was purchased by the government of British Columbia on November 30, 1961 and its routes absorbed into the BC Ferries system.

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.

"[3]: 20  Their advice was ignored, and less than two months later the minister responsible, Glen Clark, ordered the ferry corporation to cede control over its long-term planning to the government.

The government claimed the fast ferries would cost $210 million total, and Clark later insisted that this figure had included everything "right down to the toilet paper.

"[6] The truth was that little actual analysis had been done: not even the type of ship (single hull or catamaran), nor their dimensions had even been determined when the $210 million figure was announced.

"[3]: 35 On March 1, 2000, Joy MacPhail, then the minister responsible for BC Ferries, recommended to the government that it abandon the PacifiCat project, calling it "a failed experiment.

Washington Marine Group announced on July 28, 2009 that they had sold the three ships for an undisclosed amount to Abu Dhabi MAR, a luxury yacht builder.

[13] The PacifiCats were custom-designed to fit BC Ferries' docks, which allow simultaneous loading on two full-length roll-through vehicle decks.

[13] Although they initially achieved this crossing time, complaints of the wash of the ships wake forced the ferries to take a longer route, and operate a slower speed around Bowen Island.