WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Two new ships operated by the US Coast Guard are being repeatedly pulled from service to deal with ongoing engine problems, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report.
"The Fast Response Cutter (FRC) and the National Security Cutter are two of the newest and most vital cutters in the Coast Guard's fleet — but both have had engine trouble," the report stated on Monday.
The GAO pointed out that the ongoing problems were damaging the Coast Guard’s effectiveness to maintain coastal border security as they meant both ships were unavailable to carry out crucial missions on repeated occasions.
"We found that both cutters have required a lot of maintenance, making them less available to conduct critical missions than the Coast Guard had planned," the report said.
The GAO recommended that the Coast Guard periodically evaluate and update its maintenance cost estimates for these ships.
