Suit claims La. shipbuilder misled Coast Guard

A Justice Department lawsuit accuses a Louisiana shipbuilder of falsifying data to dupe the Coast Guard into awarding a government contract for lengthening patrol boats. The suit filed in Washington on July 29 claims Lockport-based Bollinger Shipyards made false statements about the structural strength of the Coast Guard cutters it was hired to modify. The Justice Department says eight cutters have been taken out of service after efforts to repair them failed. The suit seeks unspecified damages under the False Claims Act. In 2007, the chairman of a congressional oversight committee called for Bollinger to return $100 million in federal funds due to the faulty renovations. “Companies which make false statements to win Coast Guard contracts do a disservice to the men and women securing our borders,” says Assistant Attorney General Tony West. “We will take action against those who undermine the integrity of the public contracting process by providing substandard equipment to our armed services personnel.” A Bollinger spokesman didn’t immediately return a call to The Associated Press for comment. Bollinger was hired to renovate 49 Coast Guard cutters by extending their length from 110 feet to 123 feet. The company falsely reported hull-strength calculations to the Coast Guard before the cutters were converted, the Justice Department says.