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NSC Waesche finishes acceptance trials

The Coast Guard’s second-in-class national security cutter, Waesche, finished four days of acceptance trials Thursday with no major problems, according to the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard and the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey conducted Waesche’s acceptance trials in Pascagoula, Miss. InSurv inspected Waesche to identify issues prior to delivery. Acceptance trials are viewed as a “final exam” before the government takes ownership of the new cutter.

“Waesche performed with flying colors,” said Rear Adm. John Korn in a statement. Korn is the director of acquisition programs and program executive officer.

More than 80 representatives of InSurv tested Waesche’s shipboard equipment, examined the quality of construction and evaluated the cutter’s compliance with the contract specifications, according to the Coast Guard.

InSurv uses trial cards to record individual discrepancies or deficiencies requiring corrective action. Waesche had 1,466 open trial cards heading into acceptance trials, which is about half the number of trial cards that were open on Bertholf before its acceptance trials, according to the Coast Guard.

Although the rescue service did not detail the problems in its press release, it had to halt Waesche’s builder’s trial in August for two days because of problems with the critical medium pressure air compressor system — a known vulnerability caused by the demands of a dehydrator for the electronic warfare suite, Coast Guard officials said at the time. The Waesche also had problems in the ship’s machinery control system; the command, control, communication, computer, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems; the boat launch and recovery system; and other mechanical systems.

The final InSurv report hasn’t been released, but “preliminary indications are excellent,” according to a Coast Guard statement.

Conditional acceptance and delivery of Waesche is expected in early November. The Coast Guard plans to build eight NSCs, which will replace the 40-plus-year-old high endurance cutter fleet.

Related reading

• CG: Waesche handles well through trials