GAO Report in PDF Format Military Sealift Command Contracts: Contract Abuses Resulted in Poorly Maintained Ships, Unqualified Crews, and Increased Cost to Government (Testimony, 10/12/94, GAO/T-OSI-95-3). The Navy depends upon a privately run sealift tanker fleet to transport jet fuel and other petroleum products to ports worldwide. A GAO review found understaffed and unqualified crews--some with felony records; deteriorating vessels plagued by everything from massive oil leaks to inoperable life boats; and poor oversight by the Military Sealift Command. The lack of maintenance, which harmed the ships' safety and mission readiness, ended up costing the federal government an additional $20 million. Weaknesses in the Command's contract administration included the absence of (1) a program manager, (2) a written designation of departmental responsibilities for the program, and (3) a Contracting Officer's Technical Representative to monitor the performance of the contractor operating the nine tankers from 1990 until 1993. --------------------------- Indexing Terms ----------------------------- REPORTNUM: T-OSI-95-3 TITLE: Military Sealift Command Contracts: Contract Abuses Resulted in Poorly Maintained Ships, Unqualified Crews, and Increased Cost to Government DATE: 10/12/94 SUBJECT: Ships Marine transportation operations Navy procurement Equipment maintenance Contract administration Contractor personnel Contract monitoring Contract noncompliance Cost overruns Contractor performance IDENTIFIER: Desert Storm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ See the GAO FAQ - Section 2.0 for printed copy ordering information. The FAQ is automatically retrieved with all WAIS search results or can be obtained by sending e-mail to: info@www.gao.gov
