WASHINGTON – Eight leaky patrol boats are at the heart of a bitter dispute between the Coast Guard and its former partners in the defense industry as the nation’s smallest military service struggles to update an antiquated fleet on a tight budget. In April, Adm. Thad Allen, Coast Guard commandant, announced at a press briefing that the service would decommission the eight patrol boats, worth around $100 million combined, just months after the first emerged from extensive work at a Northrop Grumman shipyard that included lengthening the hull by 13 feet. The lead vessel’s hull buckled on its maiden voyage, […]
Coast Guard in Dispute With Defense Contractors Amid Equipment Crisis
