WASHINGTON - When the Coast Guard’s first large cutter in 35 years was christened in November at Northrop Grumman’s Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard, it was a gleaming symbol of the service’s ambitious $24 billion Deepwater program to update its aging fleet.

Six months later, Deepwater is listing badly under a storm of congressional criticism for design mistakes, cost overruns, and lax oversight. A botched program to lengthen existing patrol boats from 110 feet to 123 feet has forced the Coast Guard to cancel the conversions and completely scrap eight ships.

The Pascagoula, Miss.-built National Security Cutter, at 418 feet the crown jewel of the Deepwater program, is under scrutiny for metal fatigue that critics say shortens its 30-year life to less than five years. The Coast Guard has responded to the hammering from lawmakers by taking oversight of Deepwater from the contractor, Integrated Coast Guard Systems, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, canceling the conversions and making design modifications to the National Security Cutter.

Thursday, the service announced at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing that it had taken the first legal step to recoup the $100 million loss of the eight cutters from the contractor. ICGS said in a statement that it is still evaluating the letter from the Coast Guard.

But many members of Congress are pressing for more.

Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., calls the failed 110-foot conversion program “the poster child” of what’s wrong with Deepwater.

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