Coast Guard takes delivery of cutter

Coast Guard takes delivery of cutter The U.S. Coast Guard said it took preliminary delivery of the Bertholf, the first in a series of “National Security Cutters” in Pascagoula, Miss. Construction began in 2005 at the Ingalls Shipyard.
   The Coast Guard said it is the “first major multimission cutter to be built and delivered to the Coast Guard in more than 20 years.”
   But an influential congressman, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, said there were numerous deficiencies with the vessel that need to be resolved.
   “Although I am confident that the Bertholf will be an exceptional cutter expanding the mission capabilities of the U.S. Coast Guard, I am greatly concerned that the DD-250 would be signed in spite of so many outstanding deficiencies — including several deficiencies that have been ‘starred’ by U.S. Navy ship inspectors due to their potential to significantly impair the ship’s operation,” Cummings said.
   “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 Admiral (Thad) Allen not to move to final acceptance of this vessel before all outstanding deficiencies are resolved,” he added.