Maritime Administration: Improved Program Management Needed to Address Timely Disposal of Obsolete Ships
GAO-05-264
Published: Mar 07, 2005. Publicly Released: Mar 07, 2005.
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Highlights
The Maritime Administration (MARAD) has more than 100 obsolete and deteriorating ships awaiting disposal that pose potentially costly environmental threats to the waterways near where they are stored. Congress, in 2000, mandated that MARAD dispose of them by September 30, 2006. While MARAD has various disposal options available, each option is complicated by legal, financial, and regulatory factors. In this report, GAO assesses (1) whether MARAD will meet the September 2006 disposal deadline for these ships and, if not, why not; (2) the extent that MARAD has used alternative disposal methods other than scrapping, and barriers to using other methods; (3) the appropriateness of MARAD's methods for procuring ship disposal services; and (4) the impact of foreign competition and other factors on reducing disposal costs.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Transportation | The Secretary of Transportation should direct the MARAD Administrator to regularly communicate MARAD's plan, required resources, and any impediments that require congressional assistance in the mandated reports to Congress. |
Closed – Implemented
In GAO's March 2005 report on the Maritime Administration's (MARAD) management of its ship disposal program (Maritime Administration: Improved Program Management Needed to Address Timely Disposal of Obsolete Ships, GAO-05-264, Mar. 7, 2005), GAO recommended that the Secretary of Transportation direct the MARAD Administrator to (1) develop a comprehensive approach to manage MARAD's ship disposal program; and (2) regularly communicate MARAD's plan, required resources, and any impediments that require congressional assistance in the mandated reports to Congress. In response to these recommendations, the Department of Transportation (DOT) confirmed that it has implemented corrective actions in response to these recommendations. Specifically, DOT confirmed that, in response to GAO's first recommendation, it developed a comprehensive plan for the management of MARAD's ship disposal program in June 2006 and provided it to the Congress. In addition, in response to GAO's second recommendation, DOT confirmed that it currently submits annual reports to the Congress outlining updates to MARAD's ship disposal plan, required resources, and any impediments that require congressional assistance. DOT provided GAO a copy of its July 2008 report that it submitted to the Congress on the progress of MARAD's vessel disposal program.
|
| Department of Transportation | The Secretary of Transportation should direct the MARAD Administrator to change MARAD's contracting approach for acquiring ship scrapping services from the use of PRDAs to an appropriate method. |
Closed – Implemented
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Department of Transportation | The Secretary of Transportation should direct the MARAD Administrator to develop a comprehensive approach to manage MARAD's ship disposal program that would (1) identify a strategy and an implementation plan to dispose of all existing obsolete ships and future transfers in a timely manner, maximizing the use of all available disposal methods; (2) determine the needed resources, the associated funding plan, and specific milestones for this disposal; (3) establish a framework for decision making that would delineate roles and responsibilities and establish guidance and procedures; (4) identify external factors that could impede program success and develop plans to mitigate them; and (5) annually evaluate results and implement corrective actions. |
Closed – Implemented
In GAO's March 2005 report on the Maritime Administration's (MARAD) management of its ship disposal program (Maritime Administration: Improved Program Management Needed to Address Timely Disposal of Obsolete Ships, GAO-05-264, Mar. 7, 2005), GAO recommended that the Secretary of Transportation direct the MARAD Administrator to (1) develop a comprehensive approach to manage MARAD's ship disposal program; and (2) regularly communicate MARAD's plan, required resources, and any impediments that require congressional assistance in the mandated reports to Congress. In response to these recommendations, the Department of Transportation (DOT) confirmed that it has implemented corrective actions in response to these recommendations. Specifically, DOT confirmed that, in response to GAO's first recommendation, it developed a comprehensive plan for the management of MARAD's ship disposal program in June 2006 and provided it to the Congress. In addition, in response to GAO's second recommendation, DOT confirmed that it currently submits annual reports to the Congress outlining updates to MARAD's ship disposal plan, required resources, and any impediments that require congressional assistance. DOT provided GAO a copy of its July 2008 report that it submitted to the Congress on the progress of MARAD's vessel disposal program.
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Topics
CompetitionContract administrationFederal procurementForeign governmentsHazardous substancesPerformance measuresProcurement practicesProperty disposalResearch and development contractsSchedule slippagesService contractsShipsStrategic planningTimeliness