Audit Confirms Boat Design Flaws

Government auditors yesterday reported that several patrol boats built for the Coast Guard did not meet design standards, confirming complaints lodged by a former Lockheed Martin whistle-blower who aired his concerns on the popular Web site YouTube.

The Coast Guard's contractors, Lockheed of Bethesda and Northrop Grumman of Los Angeles, installed cables on the patrol boats that could give off toxic smoke if they caught fire and electronics equipment that might not be able to withstand rough seas, according to the report by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general. The vessels were built as part of the Coast Guard's $24 billion modernization program known as Deepwater, which has encountered technical, cost and schedule problems, and has been criticized for giving the contractors too much control.

"If someone thought this was a creative experiment -- it has failed," Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said at a hearing on the program yesterday. "And that failure has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars."

The report confirms some of the concerns raised by Michael De Kort, a former Lockheed engineer, about the contractors' effort to lengthen 110-foot patrol boats to 123 feet. In some cases, the contractors certified that equipment met contract standards when it didn't, the report said. "I feel vindicated by it, however we're not done," De Kort said. The contractors have not been held accountable, he said, adding, "I have almost zero faith that it won't happen again."

The Coast Guard initially planned to upgrade 49 patrol boats but stopped the program in 2005 after some of the first boats to have been refurbished developed problems with their hulls and cracks in their decks. In December, the Coast Guard stopped using the ships after discovering structural problems separate from the concerns raised by De Kort.

Lockheed noted that auditors said the contract did not require cameras with a 360-degree field of vision, which was one of DeKort's concerns. "We agree with the Coast Guard's assessment that contractual provisions were, in some cases, unclear or imprecise, and we are working with our customer to ensure that the report's recommendations are addressed," said Troy Scully, a Lockheed spokesman.

The Coast Guard has implemented some of the recommendations, spokeswoman Mary Elder said. The agency has said it would restructure aspects of the contract, which is scheduled to be renewed soon, to provide more oversight of the contractors.