The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to address underlying issues in its Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) data system that supports the operations of over 700,000 vessels.
GAO said in a report published Thursday that MISLE is struggling with incomplete or duplicate records despite being “generally able to support agency operations by tracking and aggregating mission activity data” such as inspection results for commercial vessels.
MISLE users told GAO that inaccurate records could create obstacles to providing complete vessel histories and inspection data including safety violations.
The watchdog noted that while the Coast Guard has taken steps to improve MISLE since its deployment in 2001, the system still requires further updates to support mission requirements.
The Coast Guard previously launched the updated MISLE platform in 2015 and conducted an operational analysis of the system last year. USCG noted in its fiscal 2019 report that there were “additional major system deficiencies and user dissatisfaction” with MISLE that warrants system modifications.
According to a FedScoop report, the House Appropriations Committee approved a funding bill that earmarks $12.8 billion to support the Coast Guard’s technology modernization needs for fiscal 2021.
