Coast Guard: Actions Needed to Improve National Vessel Documentation Center Operations
Fast Facts
The Coast Guard requires owners of certain commercial ships and other vessels to obtain vessel documentation—a form of registration. Owners of recreational vessels may also seek documentation to help them secure financing and other advantages.
The Coast Guard's documentation center generally processes commercial vessels on time but continues to suffer from backlogs for recreational ones. The Coast Guard has switched some staff from commercial to recreational reviews and taken other actions. We recommended it review whether the user fees it charges are sufficient to cover the cost of this service and more.
The Coast Guard's National Vessel Documentation Center Processed Mostly Recreational Certificates of Documentation from FY 2015-2019
Highlights
What GAO Found
In recent years, the Coast Guard's National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) met workload demands for timely processing of commercial vessel documentation, but not for recreational vessel documentation. From January 2015 through September 2019, its recreational documentation processing time averaged 57 days—about 4 times longer than its 15-day informal target (see fig.).
NVDC officials attributed the current backlogs to performance issues with the Coast Guard's information technology system for managing vessel documentation. For example, officials stated that there were periods where system performance issues left only about 11 percent of NVDC staff able to access the system, limiting their ability to meet their workload demands.
The Coast Guard has generally not conducted operational analyses of its vessel documentation system since 2012. Such analyses are required annually for information technology systems to help ensure they perform as intended. By developing and implementing policies and procedures to ensure the Coast Guard conducts required operational analyses for the system, it will better ensure that potential system performance issues are being addressed on a timely basis.
Coast Guard National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) Processing Time for Issuing Recreational Vessel Documentation, January 2015 through September 2019
Note: Recreational reissue—which refers to applications from recreational vessel owners to change owners or the vessel's hailing port—is the most common type of recreational vessel documentation. The gaps in the figure during 2018 and 2019 are due to the system used to generate the data being unavailable for those points in time.
The Coast Guard has not measured the NVDC's effectiveness in processing vessel documentation. The service requires its units to report their performance to leadership. However, the NVDC uses an informal target to measure staff timeliness in processing documentation. It has not established formal targets to measure its overall performance. Establishing formal organizational performance targets for its vessel documentation activities—such as quantifiable goals for timeliness and accuracy—would provide the NVDC with a clear baseline by which to measure its effectiveness.
Why GAO Did This Study
In fiscal year 2019, the NVDC documented about 230,000 vessels for commercial and recreational purposes in U.S. waters. The Coast Guard requires owners of certain-sized commercial vessels to obtain vessel documentation—a form of vessel registration—through the NVDC. Vessel documentation is optional for owners of recreational vessels of 5 or more net tons (generally longer than 26 feet), and many do so to secure a mortgage for financing. In 2017, GAO reported that the NVDC faced backlogs in processing recreational vessel documentation.
The Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018 includes a provision for GAO to review NVDC's operations. This report examines, among other objectives, the extent that the Coast Guard (1) met its NVDC workload demands and (2) measured NVDC's effectiveness in processing vessel documentation.
GAO analyzed Coast Guard vessel documentation processing data for fiscal years 2015 through 2019 and information on its system used to process vessel documentation. GAO also interviewed cognizant Coast Guard officials.
Recommendations
GAO is making seven recommendations to the Coast Guard, including that it develop and implement policies and procedures for conducting operational analyses for its vessel documentation system, and establish formal organizational performance targets for NVDC's vessel documentation activities. The Coast Guard concurred with GAO's recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| United States Coast Guard | The Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Deputy Commandant for Operations develops and implements policies and procedures for conducting operational analyses for VDS and its replacement. (Recommendation 1) |
In December 2020, we reported that Coast Guard officials attributed backlogs in processing vessel documentation to performance issues with its information technology system for managing vessel documentation-the Vessel Documentation System (VDS). We also reported that the Coast Guard had generally not conducted required, routine operational analyses of VDS since it began using the system in 2012. Coast Guard officials told us that they did not have policies and procedures in place to ensure they conduct routine operational analyses of VDS, as required. Federal agencies, including the Coast Guard, are to conduct an operational analysis of every information technology system yearly or on an as-needed basis to demonstrate the system meets the need of the agency. We recommended that the Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Deputy Commandant for Operations develops and implements policies and procedures for conducting operational analyses for VDS and its replacement. The Coast Guard concurred with the recommendation. In September 2021, the Coast Guard responded to our recommendation by developing policies and procedures for conducting operational analyses of operational information systems, including VDS and its replacement. In March 2022, the Coast Guard conducted an operational analysis for VDS. As a result, the Coast Guard will better address potential system performance issues on a timely basis.
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| United States Coast Guard | The Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Deputy Commandant for Operations documents decisions in future years in which it elects not to conduct operational analyses for VDS and its replacement. (Recommendation 2) |
In November 2020, DHS stated that, in fiscal year 2021, the Coast Guard will update its policies and procedures to include documenting decisions to exclude an information technology system from an operational analysis. DHS also stated that the Coast Guard will document such decisions in the final report on the findings of the operational analysis. In March 2021, the Coast Guard conducted an operational analysis of VDS. In September 2021, the Coast Guard developed an instruction for conducting operational analyses of operational information systems, including VDS and its replacement. In December 2023, Coast Guard officials told us that VDS's replacement will be eligible for an operational analysis after it is completed, which, as of March 2023, they estimate to occur in March 2025. They also told us that they will conduct operational analyses of operational information systems, including VDS's replacement, no less than every five years.
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| United States Coast Guard | The Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy establishes formal organizational performance targets for NVDC's vessel documentation activities, such as timeliness and accuracy. (Recommendation 3) |
In December 2020, we reported that the Coast Guard had not measured the effectiveness of the National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) in processing vessel documentation. The service requires its units to report their performance to leadership. However, the NVDC used an informal target to measure timeliness in processing documentation. It had not established formal targets to measure its overall performance. We recommended that the Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy establish formal organizational performance targets for NVDC's vessel documentation activities, such as timeliness and accuracy. The Coast Guard concurred with the recommendation. In response, in February 2022, Coast Guard officials provided evidence that the NVDC had established targets for timeliness. For example, NVDC documentation of its targets for timeliness states that the target for processing recreational vessel documentation--the most common type of vessel documentation--is 45 business days. In August 2022, Coast Guard officials provided evidence that the NVDC had established targets for accuracy. For example, NVDC documentation of its targets for accuracy states that it strives to produce work products related to vessel documentation requests with 100 percent accuracy. As a result of establishing formal organizational performance targets for NVDC's vessel documentation activities, the NVDC will have a clear baseline by which to measure its effectiveness in processing vessel documentation.
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| United States Coast Guard | The Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy develops and implements a formal mechanism to regularly solicit and review customer service feedback from NVDC customers. (Recommendation 4) |
In December 2020, we reported that the Coast Guard's National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) had not formally solicited or reviewed customer service feedback. NVDC officials told us that they did not have a formal mechanism to solicit and review customer service feedback. We recommended that the Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy develop and implement a formal mechanism to regularly solicit and review customer service feedback from NVDC customers. The Coast Guard concurred with the recommendation. In response, in September 2021, the Coast Guard developed and implemented a survey to regularly solicit customer service feedback from NVDC customers. In March 2022, Coast Guard officials told us that the NVDC regularly reviews customer service feedback and ensures appropriate follow-on action is taken. In November 2022, Coast Guard officials provided evidence that the NVDC does so. This included a NVDC work instruction defining roles and responsibilities for soliciting and reviewing customer service feedback and a record of NVDC's customer service responses in September through October 2022. Specifically, the work instruction requires senior NVDC employees to contact every customer who reports an issue or concern in the survey and document their responses in the NVDC's records. The work instruction also requires NVDC's command staff to review the responses and take action where applicable. As a result of developing and implementing a formal mechanism to regularly solicit and review customer service feedback, the NVDC will obtain the information it needs to improve its effectiveness in meeting customer service needs.
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| United States Coast Guard |
Priority Rec.
The Commandant of the Coast Guard should direct the Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy to ensure that NVDC conducts a full cost study of NVDC's commercial and recreational user fees. (Recommendation 5) |
In November 2020, DHS stated that the NVDC will conduct a full cost study of its commercial and recreational user fees, with oversight provided as needed by the Director of Operations Resource Management for the Deputy Commandant for Operations. DHS stated that the NVDC will do so after the Coast Guard develops a new information technology system to allow the NVDC to accurately assess the actual costs of providing services to the public, including new information technology support costs. The Coast Guard has delayed this effort and, as of October 2024, estimates completing it by March 2027. For example, in December 2021, Coast Guard officials told us that they adjusted the delivery date for the new information technology system from March 31, 2022 to August 31, 2022. As a result, they adjusted the estimated completion date for completing the cost study from December 31, 2022 to June 30, 2023. In February 2022, Coast Guard officials told us that they remained on track to meet the estimated completion date. However, in February 2023, Coast Guard officials told us that the delivery date for the new information technology system has been delayed for an unknown period of time due to technical issues. They told us that they did not have an estimated completion date for conducting the full cost study. In December 2023, Coast Guard officials told us the estimated completion date of the study is March 2026. In February 2024, Coast Guard officials told us that they remained on track to meet the estimated completion date. In October 2024, Coast Guard officials adjusted the estimated completion date for completing the cost study from March 2026 to March 2027. We continue to monitor Coast Guard's progress.
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| United States Coast Guard | The Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Assistant Commandant for Resources, in coordination with the Deputy Commandant for Operations, establishes a mechanism to track NVDC implementation of recommendations from its user fee reviews. (Recommendation 6) |
In December 2020, we reported that the Coast Guard had not tracked the status of recommendations made in National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) user fee reviews. Coast Guard officials told us that they did not have a mechanism in place for tracking recommendations from its NVDC user fee reviews. We recommended that the Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Assistant Commandant for Resources, in coordination with the Deputy Commandant for Operations, establishes a mechanism to track NVDC implementation of recommendations from its user fee reviews. The Coast Guard concurred with the recommendation. In response, in January 2022, the Coast Guard stated that it was developing a mechanism-an internal website-to track the implementation of recommendations from its user fee reviews. In October 2022, the Coast Guard told us that it completed the website and provided a screenshot to demonstrate that it had done so. In May 2023, we obtained Coast Guard documentation and observed a remote demonstration showing how the Coast Guard is able to use the mechanism to track NVDC implementation of recommendations from its user fee reviews. As a result of establishing a mechanism to track NVDC implementation of recommendations from its user fee reviews, the Coast Guard will be able to address any identified deficiencies in the fees established to cover its costs and to adjust its fees accordingly.
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| United States Coast Guard | The Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Assistant Commandant for Resources, in coordination with the Deputy Commandant for Operations, documents the decision if NVDC elects not to implement a recommendation from its user fee reviews. (Recommendation 7) |
In November 2020, DHS stated that the Coast Guard will develop procedures for documenting any decision not to implement a recommendation from user fee reviews. DHS estimated that the Coast Guard would do so by September 30, 2021. As of May 2023, the Coast Guard developed an internal website with work flows to document its decisions to implement recommendations from its user fee reviews. In September 2024, the Coast Guard stated that it received feedback from DHS in June 2024 on biannual fee review findings and recommendations for commercial vessel documentation. The Coast Guard stated that it populated the website with these specific findings and recommendations. However, as of September 2024, the Coast Guard had not provided documentation of this effort. To fully address this recommendation, the Coast Guard should provide documentation that it has incorporated its decisions to implement the recommendations into its website.
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