Infamous British Columbia ferries for sale on Facebook Marketplace

Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A trio of ferries built for use in British Columbia in the late 1990s are for sale on Facebook Marketplace.

The Pacficat Explorer, Discovery and Voyager, known as the Fast Cats, were built for use by B.C. Ferries in the 1990s, but the catamarans were famously over-budget and failed to meet expectations for speed or efficiency.

Only two of the ferries were ever used by B.C. Ferries, the Explorer and Discovery, but they were pulled after just a few years of service and sold in 2003.

The ferries are now owned by the government of Egypt, which left the boats vacant when they were found to be unsuitable for use in the Red Sea.

Rob Arthurs, an international trade consultant based in British Columbia, said an Egyptian company was contracted to scrap the three boats, but they determined the vessels were still in good shape and could potentially be sold intact.

Arthurs signed a deal to attempt to sell the ferries, and he listed them on Facebook Marketplace.

"The consultant feels they are nowhere near their end of life. He's given me a week or two to market these things or Egypt will dismantle them and take the motors out and sell the aluminum for scrap," Arthurs told The Vancouver Sun.

He suggested the boats could be used as ferries or they could be converted into private yachts.