Coast Guard Readiness Wanes With Sparse Crews, Equipment

The Coast Guard’s search and rescue stations lack crews and equipment, forcing some guardsmen to work 84-hour weeks and sail in boats that do not undergo routine inspections, a new government report says.

“The readiness of Coast Guard operations continues to deteriorate,” says the report by the Transportation Department’s inspector general.

Coast Guard officials acknowledged the shortcomings and agreed to address them, the report says.

The Coast Guard has 188 search and rescue stations that provide emergency assistance to boaters and conduct routine patrols. During the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2000, the Coast Guard responded to 40,068 calls for help, saving 3,365 lives.

But the agency does not have enough crews or equipment to do the job properly, the inspector general said.

For example, crews at 90% of the stations work an average of 84 hours a week. The Coast Guard’s standard work week is 68 hours. And the personnel are younger and less experienced, as veteran guardsmen leave.

Many of the boats were not ready to go out to sea. Even the agency’s 47-foot motor lifeboats, all of which are less than 5 years old, had mechanical or structural problems, the report says. The biggest problem was that most of the boats were not watertight.

The search and rescue stations also conduct routine patrols. During a patrol in March to look for illegal immigrants, a Coast Guard boat capsized on the Niagara River near Buffalo, N.Y., killing two crewmen. The boat was not a standard vessel, meaning it was not routinely inspected, unlike the agency’s standard rescue boat fleet.