Summary

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Coast Guard's proposed acquisition of Heritage class patrol boats, focusing on the Coast Guard's: (1) justification for the number and type of patrol boats needed to complete its missions; (2) evaluation of alternatives to the Heritage design; and (3) support for production schedules and cost estimates for the Heritage boat.

GAO found that: (1) the Coast Guard did not adequately justify its project to acquire Heritage vessels, the acquisition had fallen behind schedule, and the vessels were not available when needed; (2) the Coast Guard did not closely adhere to federal guidance for acquiring major systems and could not support its decision for the patrol boat fleet size and composition; (3) the Coast Guard did not complete competitive demonstrations of alternative designs before it selected the Heritage class patrol boat as its preferred fleet replacement; (4) the Coast Guard underestimated the time needed to design, develop, and produce a Heritage prototype, causing the date for acquiring the boats to slip from fiscal year (FY) 1990, as originally planned, to FY 1996; (5) as a result of such delays, the Coast Guard estimated that it might experience a shortfall of as many as 16 boats; (6) the current cost estimates of $13 million for the Heritage prototype nearly doubled since the initial estimate of $7.7 million; and (7) the Coast Guard is currently reevaluating the appropriate size and composition of the fleet, assessing the costs of renovating ports, and considering acquiring smaller, less expensive boats in place of some Heritage boats.