Seapower - August 2009

Deepwater Progress
With new processes in place, Coast Guard program delivers assets

By JOHN C. MARCARIO, Assistant Editor

Gaining Momentum

49 of the service’s 110-foot patrol boats to 123-foot versions was scrapped after eight had to be taken out of service because they were structurally unsound. There also were questions about the hull life and structural integrity of the NSC.

The Coast Guard took over control of the program in mid-2007, serving as both lead systems integrator and prime contractor. The ICGS contract runs through 2011.

The program still faces some challenges, though not on the scale of those experienced early on. The service in March told the House

Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on Coast Guard and maritime transportation that the $24 billion, 25-year program is projected to go over budget by $2 billion. In October, the Bollinger patrol boat contract was protested by Marinette, Wis.-based Marinette Marine, but the Government Accountability Office (GAO) upheld the award.

During a July 7 hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation’s oceans, atmosphere, fisheries and Coast Guard subcommittee, the GAO issued a report, “Coast Guard: Observations on the Fiscal Year 2010 Budget and Related Performance and Management Challenges,” that said the total cost of Deepwater could continue to grow beyond the estimated $2 billion increase.

The report was presented by Stephen L. Caldwell, GAO’s director, Homeland Security and Justice Issues.

Adm. Thad Allen, Coast Guard commandant, told the panel he was hopeful any increase could be minimized, but could not offer a definitive cost figure.

The service also is continuing to monitor several different VUAV models but will not make a decision on whether to buy one until fiscal 2011, at the earliest. Original Deepwater plans called for a VUAV to be part of the fleet by now.

Problems with the U.S. Coast Guard’s $24 billion, 25-year Deepwater program peaked in 2007 when House lawmakers contemplated legislation threatening to withhold funding. The past two years have seen a dramatic turnaround.

■ The service wants to have the fourth National Security Cutter under contract by fiscal 2010.

■ The Sentinel-class patrol boat contract was awarded in September and production has begun.

■ Deepwater is estimated to go over budget by $2 billion due to cost overruns and delays from early program failures.

The Coast Guard’s No. 1 acquisition program — Deepwater — reached significant mile- stones for the second straight year, but its success has been tempered by cost concerns, a contract protest and no movement on plans to buy a vertical unmanned aerial vehicle (VUAV).

Program highlights from the past 12 months include the commissioning of the first Legend-class National Security Cutter (NSC), Bertholf; continued operational testing of the cutter so it can join the fleet in 2010; and a contract award for the Sentinel-class patrol boat — formerly known as the Fast Response Cutter — to Bollinger Shipyards Inc., Lockport, La., in September. That deal could be worth $1.5 billion.

“The Deepwater that you knew from two years ago is in the rearview mirror. As far as we are concerned, it’s behind us now,” said Capt. Bruce Baffer, the surface acquisitions program manager.

In 2007, the House and Senate held hearings critical of the service’s monitoring of the program’s lead systems integrator — Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS), a joint venture of Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. The breaking point came when the planned conversion of all