U.S. Watchdog Warns The Coast Guard To Drib Dead Existent Close Its Plans To Champaign Critical Novel Icebreakers

A deep dive into what's happening In the far northward as well as inwards Washington D.C..

From The Drive, Sept. 5:

That's if Congress doesn't kill funding for the crucial computer programme alone first.

As Congress continues deliberating on whether or non fund the U.S. Coast Guard’s desperately needed heavy icebreaker program at all, a congressional watchdog has raised questions most whether the service has done plenty to mitigate possible delays as well as additional costs. Any skid inwards the planned delivery schedule could exit the United States without whatever of these specialized ships for an extended catamenia of fourth dimension as well as hamper the U.S. government’s powerfulness to operate inwards the increasingly contested as well as immensely strategic Arctic region.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its latest review of what is formally known equally the Heavy Polar Icebreaker (HPIB) computer programme on Sept. 4, 2018. The study includes half-dozen carve upwards recommendations for the Coast Guard as well as the Department of Homeland Security, including establishing applied scientific discipline readiness baselines for specific components of the planned ships, updating cost estimates, creating a theater computer programme schedule, formally identifying as well as analyzing the possible demeanour on of whatever take away chances factors, setting upwards an acquisition computer programme for the kickoff ship, as well as clarify how the U.S. Navy powerfulness assist render funds inwards the futurity to offset whatever cost growth.

“The Coast Guard – a element of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – did non convey a audio employment concern representative inwards March 2018, when it established the cost, schedule, as well as functioning baselines for its heavy polar icebreaker acquisition program,” GAO’s study explained inwards its executive summary. “GAO’s analysis of selected atomic number 82 ships for other shipbuilding programs found the icebreaker program’s estimated structure fourth dimension of 3 years is optimistic. As a result, the Coast Guard is at take away chances of non delivering the icebreakers when promised as well as the potential gap inwards icebreaking capabilities could widen.”

At present, the Coast Guard as well as the Navy computer programme to collectively contribute nearly $1 billion over the coming years to the HPIB computer programme alongside a destination of having the kickoff of 3 heavy icebreakers inwards service past times 2023. The minute as well as 3rd ships would brand it inwards 2025 as well as 2026. After that, the Coast Guard has plans to larn 3 to a greater extent than medium icebreakers.

The Coast Guard’s existing icebreaker fleet technically consists of 3 ships, the USCGC Polar Star, USCGC Polar Sea, as well as USCGC Healy, the latter of which is a medium icebreaker alongside a to a greater extent than express capability to motility through ice-filled waters than the 2 heavy Polar-class ships. The Polar Sea is also inwards a permanently inactive state, serving equally a root of spare parts for its sis ship. Despite undergoing an extensive refit betwixt 2010 as well as 2012, the 1970s-era Polar Star remains prone to breakdowns as well as other problems.

GAO’s declaration against the HPIB program’s existing cost estimates as well as delivery schedule is that the Coast Guard set out its baseline requirements earlier knowing what shipbuilders would endure able to offer, which could atomic number 82 to “an unstable design, thereby increasing the program’s cost as well as schedule risks.” In Feb 2017, the service did manus out 5 contracts, worth a combined $20 million, for pattern review studies to Bollinger Shipyards, Fincantieri Marine Group, General Dynamics/National Steel as well as Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), Huntington Ingalls, as well as VT Halter Marine, but it has withal to selection a winner.

In addition, the watchdog says that patch the Coast Guard says it plans to purpose “proven technologies” for the novel icebreakers, it did non consummate a formal assessment of whether those systems were genuinely mature as well as produce to larn into the proposed ship. Again, the concern is that whatever companionship that ends upwards edifice the HPIBs could hence uncover unforeseen issues during construction, delaying the travel as well as increasing the ship’s cost tag.

The GAO review did say that the Coast Guard’s cost gauge seemed reasonable as well as well-founded, but noted that it did non include whatever appraisal of how expensive it powerfulness endure to operate as well as sustain the ships. As such, the investigators warned that the service powerfulness endure undervaluing how much funding the HPIB computer programme volition really request inwards the long term.

Lastly, as well as mayhap most importantly, GAO warned that the consummate schedule for acquiring the ships was based on the request to avoid a gap inwards heavy icebreaker capability rather than whatever agreement of how much fourth dimension would endure necessary to build the ships. The watchdog noted that almost all major surface ships the Coast Guard as well as Navy has acquired inwards recent years took longer to build as well as also typically came inwards months behind schedule....

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