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New Coast Guard cutter delivered

Thirty-six years after the U.S. Coast Guard took delivery of its last high-endurance cutter, 122 Coasties moved aboard what the service hopes is the first of eight new replacement cutters.

The Coast Guard accepted the national security cutter Bertholf from its Northrop Grumman shipbuilders Thursday in ceremonies at Pascagoula, Miss.

“My crew and I are excited to move aboard and begin readying this impressive cutter for sea,” Capt. Patrick Stadt, the cutter’s commanding officer, said in a statement.

Authorities acknowledge the ship isn’t completely ready for sea — officially, the move is termed “preliminary acceptance” — but said solutions for most of the remaining construction issues are in sight.

“We have end dates for almost every major thing that has to be done,” Rear Adm. Gary Blore, chief acquisition officer for the Coast Guard, said Wednesday. With the crew aboard, he noted, he expected finishing work to proceed even more smoothly.

“When I put 122 Coasties on board, in essence I get 122 supervisors watching the work going on,” he said. “And that can be a significant advantage.”

Acceptance of the cutter has been decried by critics who point out the ship’s communications system is not yet fully compliant with a series of security requirements called Tempest. Coast Guard officials, however, repeatedly have said the communications system will be completed after the ship moves to its homeport of Alameda, Calif.

A Navy Board of Inspection and Survey team evaluated the ship during trials that began in February. The team noted that the Bertholf “was found to be a unique and very capable platform with great potential for future service,” and recommended acceptance of the cutter provided eight “starred” deficiencies were corrected or waived prior to delivery.

Blore detailed the status of each of the eight problems as of Thursday, the delivery date:

* Misalignment of the line shaft bearings. “All now have been realigned and are checking out good. Permanent remounts have been done on one shaft and the others to be completed by May 12, when we plan to perform a final underway check.”

* Starboard anchor brake problem. “It has to freefall to 45 fathoms. It has been fixed, and will be tested on May 12.”

* Mooring capstan fixes. “That has been repaired as of May 7.”

* Gantry crane hoist rigging issue. “New rigging is in, will be completed May 11.”

* Magazine loading platform braking issue. Changes were completed and the system was tested satisfactorily on Wednesday.

* Incinerator was inoperative. “It’s now working and signed off on.”

* About 15 aviation certification items. “Fixes for all will be completed by May 11.”

* Machinery Control and Monitory System issues. “That’s the hardest of the group,” Blore said. He explained that a computer software problem has meant that the primary engine control station for the main engines, auxiliaries and pumps cannot directly control the main engines, which are being run from a backup station. Wonderware, a German company that installed the initial system, has been dismissed, and a new contractor, Matrikon, is working to fix the situation. Matrikon, Blore noted, is experienced with installing control stations for the MTU diesels carried by the new cutter.

“We are optimistic that around May 24 or 25 we will have this down,” Blore said.

The National Security Cutter is the first major ship project for Deepwater, a sweeping, 25-year effort by the Coast Guard to recapitalize its ships, planes and systems. The effort has been under heavy criticism from Congress for mismanagement by the service and its two primary Deepwater contractors, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin.

Northrop was criticized for what some perceived as structural issues with the original cutter design, while Lockheed has been taken to task by claims of sloppy or incomplete systems work.

Northrop’s Ingalls shipyard has been determined to do a credible job on the project, particularly after lengthy problems with its last first-of-class ship, the amphibious transport dock San Antonio.

“Wherever Bertholf sails, she will carry a Northrop Grumman quality stamp born from the commitment and determination of our shipbuilders,” said Richard Schenk, Northrop’s vice president for Coast Guard programs.

Richard Lockwood, head of Lockheed’s Coast Guard Systems business — which handled the command, communications, control and computers systems on the Bertholf — noted that “we have a small number of open items yet to close” on the cutter. “The INSURV report confirmed the quality of our engineer’s system design and our shipboard integration and test team’s work,” he said in a statement.

While the Coast Guard was trying hard to celebrate the delivery, at least one key lawmaker overseeing Coast Guard programs felt the move was premature.

“I am greatly concerned” that the ship would be delivered “in spite of so many outstanding deficiencies — including several that have been starred by U.S. Navy ship inspectors due to their potential to significantly impair the ship’s operation,” Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., chairman of the subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, said in a statement released on Thursday.

“Given the millions of taxpayer dollars that have already been wasted on the Deepwater project, I will be closely watching to ensure that the Coast Guard addresses these serious deficiencies while also encouraging [Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen] not to move to final acceptance of this vessel before all outstanding deficiencies are resolved.”

Blore took pains to point out that systems testing, grouped under the heading of “information assurance,” is continuing on the Bertholf and that, while progress is being made, the work won’t be completed for some time.

“The most recent testing was over eight days with two different teams,” he said. “We’re basically fixing problems on the spot.”

The process will take “several months,” he said, adding that “no classified systems are going to be operated before the systems are Tempest-certified.

Systems testing won’t affect pre-deployment workups, Blore declared.

The Bertholf is scheduled to be commissioned in early August at Alameda. A lengthy period of training and trials will continue after that, with the first fully operational deployment planned for the spring of 2010.