B.C. fast ferries buyer identified

The company that helped build British Columbia's fast ferries bought them back Monday during a bargain auction.

The Washington Marine Group bought the three PacifiCats for slightly more than $19 million. They cost $450 million to build.

• FROM MARCH 24, 2003: B.C.'s fast ferries sell for virtually nothing

The company owns Vancouver Shipyards, one of the companies responsible for building the boats.

A spokesperson for Washington Marine says the company has no immediate plans for the ferries but didn't want to see them sold for scrap.

The president of the Shipyard Workers' Federation says the "fast ferries fiasco" is far from over.

"Just before Christmas there was an offer on the table for $60 million, so clearly the minister threw an awful lot of money out the door here yesterday on behalf of the taxpayers that I find very troubling," said George McPherson.

McPherson blames the Liberal government for unloading the ferries for political reasons. B.C. Ferries has said it tried to sell the PacifiCats on a number of earlier occasions, but the deals fell through.