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    <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
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    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
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    <item>
      <title>Offshore Patrol Cutter: Coast Guard Should Gain Key Knowledge Before Buying More Ships</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2630517</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Coast Guard—a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—plans to spend over $17 billion to acquire a fleet of 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs). Since 2020, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that the Coast Guard is using a high-risk approach to acquire OPCs that involves significant overlap in design and construction. GAO was asked to review the status of the OPC acquisition program. This report examines the extent to which (1) progress has been made on OPC design and construction; and (2) the OPC program is meeting its cost and performance goals.  GAO analyzed OPC documents and data; compared the status of OPC stage 1 design and construction to what GAO reported in June 2023 (GAO-23-105805); and compared stage 2 design and construction to leading practices for commercial shipbuilding. GAO also conducted site visits to both OPC shipbuilders to observe stage 1 and stage 2 construction progress; and interviewed Coast Guard officials and shipbuilder representatives. GAO is making four recommendations to the Coast Guard and DHS, including that the program stabilizes design before starting construction of additional stage 2 OPCs; reports cost goals for each OPC stage; and documents a plan for acquiring stage 3 ships that identifies how it will use test results to inform procurement activities and further incorporate shipbuilding leading practices. DHS concurred with two of the four recommendations, and did not concur with the other two. GAO maintains that all four recommendations are warranted.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 08 Dec 2025 11:39:40 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2630517</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Coast Guard: Actions Needed to Address Cutter Maintenance and Workforce Challenges</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2569498</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Coast Guard, a multi-mission military service within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is responsible for ensuring the safety, security, and stewardship of more than 100,000 miles of U.S. coastline and inland waterways. It relies heavily on its cutter fleet to meet these mission demands. In 2012, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that the Coast Guard’s legacy cutters were approaching, or had exceeded, their expected service lives and that their physical condition was generally poor. GAO was asked to review how the cutter fleet has changed since 2012. This report examines, among other things, the Coast Guard’s (1) challenges in operating and maintaining its cutter fleet, and (2) the extent it has determined its cutter-related workforce needs. GAO analyzed available Coast Guard documentation and data for the period 2012-2024 on types of cutters, cutter availability, and cutter usage time. GAO also conducted site visits to observe facility operations and interviewed Coast Guard officials, including maintenance officials and cutter crews representing a mix of cutter types and geographic locations. GAO is making five recommendations, including that the Coast Guard collect and assess data on (1) the impact of deferred maintenance on cutter equipment failures and which parts and systems are or will become obsolete; and (2) staff availability for the cutter workforce. DHS agreed with four of the recommendations but did not agree to analyze staff availability data. GAO continues to believe this would help inform personnel assignments.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2025 16:15:37 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2569498</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Coast Guard Acquisition: Actions Needed to Address Affordability Challenges</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2389622</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The U.S. Coast Guard employs a variety of vessels and aircraft, several of which are approaching the end of their intended service lives. Consequently, the Coast Guard plans to invest billions of dollars to acquire several high priority assets. These include three Polar Security Cutters, 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters, and 79 additional MH-60T helicopters. This statement by Shelby S. Oakley, Director, Contracting and National Security Acquisitions, addresses (1) challenges with the affordability of the Coast Guard’s portfolio of major acquisitions, and (2) key questions that the Coast Guard and Congressional decision-makers will need to address because of these challenges. The statement also highlights the Government Accountability Office's (GAO’s) prior recommendations and matters for Congress which, if implemented, would help address the challenges. This statement is largely based on GAO’s prior work on Coast Guard acquisitions issued from 2012 through 2024, including GAO-18-454, GAO-23- 105805 and GAO-23-105949. Information about the scope and methodology of prior work on which this statement is based can be found in those products. Since 2012, GAO has made 48 recommendations (16 of which remain open) on how to better manage the Coast Guard’s major acquisition programs. GAO will continue to monitor the agency’s progress in addressing these recommendations. GAO has also made matters for congressional consideration to improve Coast Guard acquisitions. Two of these matters remain open.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 24 Jun 2024 15:47:14 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2389622</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Coast Guard Recapitalization: Actions Needed to Better Manage Acquisition Programs and Address Affordability Concerns</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2221851</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The U.S. Coast Guard, a component within the Department of Homeland Security, employs a variety of vessels and aircraft, several of which are approaching the end of their intended service lives. Consequently, the Coast Guard plans to invest billions of dollars in two of its highest priority programs— acquiring three heavy icebreakers, known as Polar Security Cutters (PSCs), and a fleet of 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs), which are ships that conduct a variety of missions in offshore waters. This statement by Marie A. Mak, Director, Contracting and National Security Acquisitions, addresses (1) the capabilities provided by the newer Coast Guard surface vessels, (2) the risks and consequences of not establishing sound business cases for two of Coast Guard’s highest priority programs—the OPC and PSC, and (3) the overall affordability of the Coast Guard’s acquisition portfolio. This statement is largely based on information from GAO-23-105805 and GAO-23-105949. Information about the scope and methodology of prior work on which this statement is based can be found in those products. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) made seven recommendations in its 2023 reports on the OPC and PSC to better align the Coast Guard’s acquisition policy and the programs’ practices with shipbuilding leading practices. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Coast Guard agreed with five recommendations. Overall, GAO has made 40 recommendations over the past decade, 14 of which remain open. GAO will continue to monitor DHS’s and the Coast Guard’s progress in addressing these recommendations.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 07 Aug 2023 17:28:12 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2221851</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Coast Guard Acquisitions: Offshore Patrol Cutter Program Needs to Mature Technology and Design</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2197954</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Coast Guard plans to acquire a fleet of 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs)—four ships in stage 1, 11 ships in stage 2, and 10 ships in a later effort—from at least two different shipbuilders. This is the component’s highest investment priority. The OPCs will help ensure a variety of missions in offshore waters once the current fleet of aging Medium Endurance Cutters (MECs) is decommissioned. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review the OPC acquisition program’s status and the Coast Guard’s plans for the MECs. This report examines the extent to which (1) the OPC’s design and construction practices are consistent with shipbuilding leading practices, (2) the OPC is meeting cost and schedule goals, and (3) a gap exists between the decommissioning of the MEC fleet and the deployment of the OPCs. GAO analyzed Coast Guard program documents and data, and interviewed Coast Guard officials and shipbuilder representatives. GAO continues to believe that its October 2020 recommendations have merit. GAO is making five new recommendations to the Coast Guard, including that it develop a technology maturation plan for the davit; demonstrate the davit in a realistic environment; and update its acquisition policy to require programs to complete routing of distributive systems as part of functional design prior to lead ship construction. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) concurred with three of five recommendations, and did not concur with two. GAO has raised to the attention of Congress two matters for its consideration, as discussed in the report.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 26 Jun 2023 08:46:38 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2197954</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Improving the current regulatory issues concerning training ships for maritime institutions: The South Korean case</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1949068</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Unlike commercial vessels, training ships have the unique purpose of providing students attempting to become ships’ officers with the onboard training education referred to in the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW code). More than 100 people, including students, are usually aboard these internationally seagoing vessels. Despite training ships requiring strict safety management to prevent maritime accidents and protect lives, they are excluded from the application of key international rules and regulations concerning the safety of these ships due to an ambiguous legal status. Furthermore, there is no comprehensive safety management system at the central governmental level over training ships as they are operated by individual maritime institutions despite them being national property. Against these backgrounds, this research analyses current regulatory issues of training ships at the IMO level and the domestic level by referring to South Korean case. This research conducts a doctrinal legal study to understand the current legal status of training ships the application limits of the IMO regulatory instruments. The research concludes by referring to the necessity of the development of training ships Code to enhance he safety of training ships in the future.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 23 Jun 2022 09:16:42 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1949068</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Coast Guard Acquisitions: Opportunities Exist to Reduce Risk for the Offshore Patrol Cutter Program</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1751806</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Coast Guard—a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—is planning to spend over $12 billion to acquire a fleet of 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs). This is the component’s highest investment priority and will help ensure a variety of missions, such as drug and migrant interdiction, are carried out in offshore waters once its aging Medium Endurance Cutters are decommissioned. After Hurricane Michael—a category 5 storm— significantly disrupted the OPC shipbuilder’s ability to continue work in October 2018, DHS granted up to $659 million in extraordinary contractual relief to the shipbuilder. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review the status of the OPC acquisition program. This report examines, among other objectives, how the Coast Guard revised the OPC program after Hurricane Michael and the extent to which the program addressed major risks—particularly in the areas of design maturity, schedule, and cost— before proceeding through key acquisition decisions both pre- and post-hurricane. GAO reviewed Coast Guard program and contract documents, analyzed Coast Guard data, and interviewed Coast Guard and DHS officials. GAO is making eight recommendations to the Coast Guard and DHS, including ensuring that the program stabilizes its design before proceeding with construction of the next OPC, updates its schedule to address deficiencies and incorporate risks, and updates its cost estimate to improve its credibility.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 09 Dec 2020 09:17:28 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1751806</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>South Korea to order 63 ships from its yards</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1734331</link>
      <description><![CDATA[]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 28 Aug 2020 17:32:09 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1734331</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>U.S. Navy and government shipbuilding : shipyards look beyond the Navy for government orders</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1644471</link>
      <description><![CDATA[]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 07 Aug 2019 11:22:59 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1644471</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter (Polar Icebreaker) Program: Background and Issues for Congress</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1593719</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Polar Security Cutter (PSC) program—the Coast Guard’s program for acquiring new polar icebreakers. The program was previously known as the polar icebreaker (PIB) program. The PSC program has received a total of $1,034.6 million (i.e., about $1.0 billion) in procurement funding through FY2019. The Coast Guard’s FY2019 five-year (FY2019-FY2023) Capital Investment Plan (CIP) projected that the Coast Guard’s FY2020 budget would request an additional $125 million in FY2020 procurement funding for the program. The issue for Congress is whether to approve, reject, or modify the Administration’s annual procurement funding requests for the PSC program, and, more generally, whether to approve, reject, or modify the Coast Guard’s overall plan for procuring new polar icebreakers. Congress’s decisions on this issue could affect Coast Guard funding requirements, the Coast Guard’s ability to perform its polar missions, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 12 Apr 2019 14:29:31 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1593719</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Coast Guard: Improved Acquisition Portfolio Management Could Help Address Aging Assets and Capability Gaps</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1526498</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Coast Guard, a component within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is spending billions of dollars to acquire assets, such as cutters and aircraft. This portfolio of major acquisition programs is intended to help the Coast Guard accomplish its missions—including interdicting illegal drugs and search and rescue missions. The U.S. Government Accountability's Office (GAO’s) extensive prior work on Coast Guard acquisitions has found that the Coast Guard’s reliance on its annual budget process to manage its portfolio is a major management challenge. In the report issued today, GAO discusses particular challenges with the Coast Guard’s approach in managing its acquisition portfolio, such as not performing a collective assessment of the portfolio to ensure affordability. This statement by Marie A. Mak, Director Contracting and National Security Acquisitions, addresses the challenges the Coast Guard faces in (1) managing its overall acquisition portfolio, and (2) sustaining aging assets. This statement is based on GAO’s extensive body of published and ongoing work examining the Coast Guard’s acquisition efforts over several years. The report on which this statement is primarily based (GAO-18-454) recommends that the Coast Guard work with Congress to include in its annual Capital Investment Plan (CIP) a discussion of how trade-off decisions could affect other acquisition programs. DHS agreed with this recommendation. GAO has also made other recommendations in this area in the past, as discussed in this testimony.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 25 Jul 2018 09:21:02 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1526498</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Coast Guard Acquisitions: Actions Needed to Address Longstanding Portfolio Management Challenges</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1526497</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Coast Guard spends billions of dollars on its major acquisition programs to meet its missions. The U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO’s) prior work has identified the Coast Guard’s reliance on its annual budget process to manage its acquisition portfolio as a challenge. GAO was asked to review the recapitalization of the Coast Guard’s acquisition portfolio. This report assesses, among other topics, the extent to which the Coast Guard has made changes to how it manages its acquisition portfolio. GAO assessed Coast Guard’s major acquisition programs to determine changes since GAO’s 2014 portfolio review. GAO analyzed program baselines and interviewed Coast Guard officials. GAO analyzed the Capital Investment Plan (CIP)  for fiscal years 2014 through 2018, and reviewed the Executive Oversight Council’s (EOC's) documentation. GAO recommends that the annual CIPs reflect acquisition trade-off decisions and their effects, and that the EOC review the overall acquisition portfolio and its affordability annually. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) concurred with the CIP recommendation. DHS did not concur with the EOC recommendation. It noted that other existing Coast Guard bodies are responsible for evaluating and prioritizing funding. However, DHS stated that the EOC charter will be updated to require it to review the overall acquisition portfolio, including long-term planning. If this long-term planning accounts for budget realities for the acquisition portfolio, GAO believes the intent of the recommendation will be met.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 25 Jul 2018 09:21:02 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1526497</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Coast Guard: Status of Polar Icebreaking Fleet Capability and Recapitalization Plan</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1483670</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Coast Guard is responsible for providing polar icebreaking capability for the United States and operates two polar icebreakers: a heavy icebreaker, the Polar Star, that is nearing the end of its expected service life, and the Healy, a medium icebreaker. To maintain polar icebreaking capability to access the Arctic and Antarctic (i.e. the Polar Regions), the Coast Guard is seeking to recapitalize its polar icebreaking fleet through the acquisition of three new heavy polar icebreakers. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 included a provision for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review various issues associated with U.S. polar icebreaking capabilities and the status of the Coast Guard’s efforts to recapitalize its polar icebreaking fleet. This report formally transmits information provided to congressional committees on June 23, 2017 to meet reporting requirement. It discusses: (1) the extent to which the Coast Guard’s existing polar icebreaking capabilities address key mission requirements; (2) the status of the Coast Guard’s efforts to recapitalize its heavy polar icebreaking fleet, and how it has addressed challenges it has identified in implementing the effort; and (3) the potential heavy polar icebreaking capability gap, if any, that the Coast Guard has identified and the plans of the Coast Guard, and other federal agencies that depend on its heavy polar icebreaking capability, to address it. In January 2017, the Coast Guard identified a limited service life extension of the Polar Star as its strategy to bridge the potential gap between the end of this vessel’s projected service life and the planned delivery of the first new heavy icebreaker. However, the Coast Guard decided on this approach without complete cost information. GAO recommended that the Coast Guard complete a comprehensive cost estimate for a limited service life extension of the Polar Star that follows cost estimating best practices before committing to this approach for bridging the potential capability gap. The Coast Guard concurred with this recommendation.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 27 Sep 2017 16:12:03 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1483670</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Coast Guard Acquisitions: Limited Strategic Planning Efforts Pose Risk for Future Acquisitions</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1477488</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In order to meet its missions of maritime safety, security, and environmental stewardship, the Coast Guard, a component within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), employs a variety of assets, several of which are approaching the end of their intended service lives. As part of its efforts to modernize its surface and air assets (known as recapitalization), the Coast Guard has begun acquiring new vessels and air assets. Concerns surrounding the affordability of this effort remain as the Coast Guard continues to pursue new acquisitions such as the polar icebreaker, while also acquiring the Offshore Patrol Cutter—which is estimated to cost $12.1 billion through 2032. This statement by Marie A. Mak, Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management, addresses the (1) extent that the Coast Guard develops planning tools to guide its acquisition portfolio, and (2) potential risks the Coast Guard faces in its polar icebreaker acquisition. This statement is based on the Government Accountability Office's (GAO’s) extensive body of published and ongoing work examining the Coast Guard’s acquisition efforts over several years. GAO is not making recommendations in this statement but has made them to the Coast Guard and DHS in the past regarding recapitalization, including that the Coast Guard develop a 20-year fleet modernization plan that identifies all acquisitions and the fiscal resources needed to acquire them. DHS agreed with this recommendation.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 16 Aug 2017 12:08:59 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1477488</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Rib recipe : RIB production receives a boost from military sales</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1415090</link>
      <description><![CDATA[]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2016 12:19:20 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1415090</guid>
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