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NEW YORK — Self-made millionaire Gregory Sancoff has spent a decade and US$19 million building a highly unusual stealth boat.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or The U.S. government won’t buy this $19-million stealth boat from its designer — or let anyone else buy it Back to video

Called Ghost, it’s designed to be faster, more stable, and more fuel-efficient than anything currently in the U.S. Navy’s fleet, he says.

“It’s such a smooth ride, you can sit there and drink your coffee going through six-foot swells,” he proudly told Bloomberg Businessweek in 2014.

But there’s a problem: The Pentagon doesn’t want Sancoff’s boat — and also won’t let him sell it abroad.

Last year, Sancoff was served government secrecy orders, which means he’s not permitted to show his patents and technology to anyone. Since then, his Portsmouth, N.H.-based startup, Juliet Marine Systems Inc., has had to lay off 17 of its 20 employees, and Sancoff sued the government to recoup damages.

“We’ve fallen into a very weird place,” he says. “If the U.S. doesn’t want this, fine. But why not let us sell to friendly nations? We’ve had so much interest from countries like Japan, Korea, Qatar.”

The Navy and the U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment.