Nearly a decade into a 25-year, $24.2 billion overhaul intended to add or upgrade more than 250 vessels to its aging fleet, the Coast Guard has two new ships to show after spending $7 billion-plus.Now it's facing an uphill battle persuading a budget-conscious Congress to keep pouring money into a project plagued by management problems and cost overruns.
By now the Coast Guard was supposed to have at least eight new ships - four 418-foot national security cutters and four 154-foot cutters - either in the water or about to be delivered. Instead it has only two of the largest ships already in use, with two ships more on the way.
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