Coast Guard project under investigation
The Justice Department is investigating a much-criticized Coast Guard contract managed by two major defense contractors over the flawed design of modified patrol boats that are a component of a $24-billion modernization project, a member of Congress and a representative for the companies said Wednesday.
A spokeswoman for the Lockheed Martin Corp.-Northrop Grumman Corp. joint venture said the companies were notified in December of a probe into the program, dubbed Deepwater.
Lockheed, Northrop and other contractors were told to save documents related to the conversion of 110-foot patrol boats into 123-foot vessels, command and control systems, and on national security cutters, said Margaret Mitchell-Jones, spokeswoman for Integrated Coast Guard Systems.
The Coast Guard announced Tuesday that it was taking over management of the contract from ICGS because of design flaws, lax contract oversight and cost overruns.
Adm. Thad Allen, the commandant of the Coast Guard, announced Tuesday that he had decided to permanently decommission the eight 123-foot vessels on which work had been completed.
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