Summary: In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed certain allegations concerning a contractor's operation of a Military Sealift Command (MSC) oceanographic ship to determine whether the contractor: (1) provided the required number of crew members and certain crew specialties; and (2) misused a government travel request.
GAO found that: (1) crew shortages resulted from unexpected resignations or failure to secure required clearances; (2) crew shortages consisted mainly of nonspecialty personnel; (3) from March to September 1987 crew shortages amounted to 112 crew days, less than 1 percent of the required crew days; (4) MSC deducted payments from the contractor totalling $21,593 for the crew day shortages on the ship reviewed and $146,158 for crew shortages on other ships the contractor operated; and (5) MSC accepted the contractor's plan to minimize future crew shortages and reinstated $105,386 it withheld for crew shortages. GAO also found that the: (1) travelling crew member was not entitled to a transportation allowance, since he resigned by mutual consent prior to completion of his assignment; (2) ship master withheld the contractor's estimated cost for the member's return to the United States; and (3) contractor did not have access to government travel requests.
