These awards support the Coast Guard’s strategy to mitigate OPC program risk and establish a new, fair and open competitive environment to complete the OPC program of record. After Hurricane Michael—a category 5 storm—significantly disrupted the OPC shipbuilder's ability to continue work in October 2018, DHS granted up to $659 million in extraordinary contractual relief to the shipbuilder. The Coast Guard’s proposed The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) announced the award of Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) industry studies contracts to eight shipbuilders on March 20. Overlapping Programs Could Better Collaborate to Share Information and Identify Potential Security Gaps, Most Acquisition Programs Are Meeting Goals but Data Provided to Congress Lacks Context Needed For Effective Oversight, Actions Needed to Improve National Vessel Documentation Center Operations, Information on Federal Agencies' Process for Acquiring Private Land for Barriers, TSA Needs to Establish Metrics and Evaluate Third Party Testing Outcomes for Screening Technologies, DHS Has Opportunities to Improve Its Component Acquisition Oversight, Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen FEMA's Individuals and Households Program, FEMA Individuals and Households Program Applicant Data 2016 – 2018, Select Disaster Profiles for FEMA's Individuals and Households Program 2016-2018, DHS Could Use Available Data to Better Plan Outreach to Facilities Excluded from Anti-Terrorism Standards, Cybersecurity Challenges Facing the Nation – High Risk Issue, Ensuring the Effective Protection of Technologies Critical to U.S. National Security Interests - High Risk Issue, Federal Grants to State and Local Governments, National Flood Insurance Program - High Risk Issue. Publicly Released: Nov 12, 2020. (Recommendation 7), Recommendation: The Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure the OPC program improves its risk management processes to follow the format and include content as indicated in DHS acquisition policy and Coast Guard guidance, including (1) holding monthly risk management board meetings and updating its risk register regularly; (2) revising the risk register to include the risks we identified in this report—proceeding into construction with an incomplete 3D model, conducting late operational testing, challenges with ESG's scheduling practices, and challenges with ESG's accounting system; and (3) revising the risk register to comprehensively track risk management information. The Coast Guard's determination to deliver the OPCs in a timely manner has driven the program through key acquisition decisions despite significant design, testing, schedule, and cost risks, which remained or were exacerbated after the hurricane (see figure). The Coast Guard divided the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program into two stages and revised its cost and schedule goals following widespread disruptions from Hurricane Michael in October 2018, which led the shipbuilder to request relief from certain requirements under contract. for the U.S. Coast Guard’s offshore patrol cutter (OPC) #2. This could further delay schedules and increase costs. The OPCs will replace the service’s aging medium-endurance cutters, which are becoming increasingly expensive to maintain and operate. On Oct. 18, 2019, the Coast Guard released a request for information to gauge industry interest in re-competing the remainder of the OPC … The awardees will also discuss how they would prepare the OPC functional design for production. The request was a result of devastation caused when Hurricane Michael made landfall in Panama City, Florida, on Oct. 10, 2018. These awards support the Coast Guard’s strategy to mitigate OPC program risk and complete the program of record by establishing a new, fair and open competitive environment to complete the OPC program of record. These key analyses include varying assumptions to determine how sensitive the estimates are to various factors and quantifying the effects of potential risks. These awards support the Coast Guard’s strategy to mitigate OPC program risk and establish a new, fair and open competitive environment to complete the OPC program of record. Published: Oct 28, 2020. This is the component's highest investment priority and will help ensure a variety of missions, such as drug and migrant interdiction, are carried out in offshore waters once its aging Medium Endurance Cutters are decommissioned. [27] On September 7, 2017, it was announced the USCG exercised a fixed-price option to procure long lead time materials for the first Heritage-class cutter. (Recommendation 4), Recommendation: The DHS Secretary should ensure the DHS Under Secretary for Management directs the Coast Guard, prior to approval of construction start for OPC 3, to identify the associated cost, schedule, and operational risks of the program's testing strategy for stage 1; and document these analyses in an updated test and evaluation master plan. Construction on the first ship in a new class of US Coast Guard cutters started with a steel cutting ceremony at Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s facilities in Panama City, Florida, on January 7. The Coast Guard authorized the start of construction for the first two OPCs despite not having a stable design, which, says GAO, is inconsistent with shipbuilding best practices. GAO reviewed Coast Guard program and contract documents, analyzed Coast Guard data, and interviewed Coast Guard and DHS officials. The Coast Guard on Friday said it had exercised more than $400 million in contract options toward its ongoing surface fleet modernization, including the construction contract with Eastern Shipbuilding for its first of 25 planned medium-endurance Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC). Our 8 recommendations could help set the program on a better path. The Coast Guard will use the industry studies results to further inform its follow-on acquisition strategy and promote a competitive environment for the DD&C award. Published: Jan 19, 2021. Panama City, FL – The keel laying ceremony for the US Coast Guard’s, first of class, Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) ARGUS (WMSM-915), was held on April 28, 2020 at Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s Nelson Street facility. Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group has cut the first steel for the US Coast Guard’s (USCG) second offshore patrol cutter (OPC). GAO Says Coast Guard OPC Design Unstable, Schedule Optimistic. Publicly Released: Nov 23, 2020. Additionally, the OPC has been touted as a next generation ship, and the most technologically advanced vessel the Coast Guard has ever operated. Recommendation: The DHS Secretary should ensure the DHS Under Secretary for Management directs the Coast Guard to revise OPC's acquisition program baseline for stage 1 to include OPC's delivery dates. The cutting of steel started the fabrication and assembly of the cutter’s hull, and ESG is to complete keel laying of Chase […] The Coast Guard plans to acquire 25 OPCs. Coast Guard officials describe the OPC and PSC programs as the service’s highest acquisition priorities. Omitting these analyses undermines the credibility of the estimated program costs, increasing the risk that decision makers do not have a complete picture of the full range of costs the program could incur. For more information, contact Marie A. Mak at (202) 512-4841 or makm@gao.gov. OPCs have an estimated average procurement cost of … The OPCs will bridge the capabilities of the national security cutters, which patrol the open ocean, and the fast response cutters, which serve closer to shore. Unstable Design. Under this revised plan, the current shipbuilder will build up to four OPCs in the first stage, while the acquisition of the remaining 21 OPCs will be awarded under one or more new contracts starting in fiscal year 2022 in the second stage. (Recommendation 3), Agency Affected: Department of Homeland Security: United States Coast Guard, Recommendation: The Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure the Coast Guard Component Acquisition Executive revises Coast Guard's acquisition policy to include criteria and a methodology for demonstrating design maturity for shipbuilding programs that are aligned with shipbuilding best practices, including specifying the completion of basic and functional designs and maturing critical technologies to a TRL of 7. The U.S. Coast Guard is restructuring their top procurement priority, the Offshore Patrol Cutter Program. Coast Guard Off Shore Patrol Cutter - Courtesy of Eastern Shipbuilding Group “This is the largest acquisition in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard. The U.S. Coast Guard updated the technical library and provided a draft solicitation for the offshore patrol cutter (OPC) on Oct. 9.This draft solicitation contains information for potential offerors about the bidding process and award evaluation factors for the follow-on Aug. 3, 2020 —. The awardees may also identify possible design or systems revisions that would be advantageous to the program if implemented, with strategies to ensure those revisions are properly managed. The steel cutting for offshore patrol cutter (OPC) Argus (WMSM-915) was a significant milestone for the company even after it sustained damage and work interruption due to Hurricane Michael. The ship, to be named Chase (WMSM-916), is scheduled for delivery in 2023. Seapower Other nations are beefing up their fleets, he noted, including in the Indo-Pacific region, Adm. Karl Schultz noted during a speech at the Surface Navy Association’s annual symposium, which was held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Proceeding towards OPC 3 construction before stabilizing the design—including maturing the design drawings of major ship systems—increases the risk of construction rework if changes are needed. The contract was adjusted as part of a request made by the incumbent, Eastern Shipbuilding Group, for extraordinary relief. Browse all our products here, Explore our Key Issues on Homeland Security. Published: Sep 30, 2020. (Recommendation 5), Recommendation: The Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure the OPC program updates its shipbuilder and government schedules for OPCs 1 through 4 to (1) fully address deficiencies identified in the shipbuilder's schedule, and (2) fully incorporate schedule risk analysis in accordance with schedule best practices. The cost estimate used to inform the program's new cost goals did not include key analyses called for in best practices for developing cost estimates GAO identified. Proceeding towards OPC 3 construction before stabilizing the design—including maturing the design drawings of major ship systems—increases the risk of construction rework if changes are needed. The Coast Guard accepted significant risk with the design, schedule, and cost—both before and after the hurricane—to get the cutters built quickly. (Graphic: Eastern Shipbuilding Group.) Publicly Released: Sep 30, 2020. 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