The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Region Acquisitions Division-Kansas City office intends to negotiate, on a sole source basis, under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), with Dusky Marine, Inc., for one Dusky 278 CSS boat for the National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) in Miami, FL. Background This vessel will be used to provide continued reef fish and habitat monitoring in Florida's coral reef tract to assess population and habitat trends, fish-habitat associations, and ecosystem responses to natural events (e.g. hurricanes), management measures and anthropogenic impacts. This project has provided over 30 years of data on population trends of Florida coral reef communities that support extensive commercial and recreational fisheries. Sole Source Justification The Dusky 278 CSS is the only vessel that will suit the SEFSC's needs and meet the demands of the mission. Due to the nature of the work, the boat must be equipped with a cabin large enough to store six sets of dive gear and auxiliary dive and safety gear. While in the field for multi day missions the vessel often serves as an office or base of operations. SESFC must store mission equipment, safety equipment and SCUBA gear in a securely locked space. A full SCUBA unit occupies about 5 cu ft of space and SEFSC can travel with up to 6 divers. All necessary gear will fill a 60 cu ft cabin. Required specifications: 1. LOA - 27'. A length over all (LOA) of 27' is to allow a deck area of at least 132" x 80" and a cabin area of at least 60 cu ft and fit in the existing boat bay. It also must be within the NOAA Small Boat Program's specifications for a class 1 vessel which is that a vessel must be 27 feet or less. 2. Beam - 8' to fit in the existing boat bay and maximize the deck area. The current space designated for this vessel can accommodate a vessel and trailer no more than 8' wide. 3. Power - Twin 150hp outboard engines for safety in redundancy and enough power to carry gear and personnel. Diving will be part of the primary mission for this vessel and current NOAA Dive Program regulations require that in the event of an incident or casualty the boat have the capability to transport a diver (possibly injured or unconscious) to secondary care or a hyperbaric chamber within 6 hours. Redundant engines would ensure that capability in the event of a breakdown. 4. Deck area - minimum open space of 133" x 80". During primary operations, SEFSC deploys divers in pairs while "live boating" (Divers deploy while the boat is still moving). To safely deploy divers while live boating in constantly changing environmental conditions, it is a requirement that they be able to move quickly and deploy in pairs from either, or both sides of the vessel. To ensure safe and rapid deployment, the deck must be wide enough for two divers, in full SCUBA gear, to walk side by side between gear benches along an un-obstructed deck (no gear, no deck or battery boxes as found on other boats). SEFSC has determined that the minimum adequate width between benches is 40" and the minimum bench width is 20" for a total of 80" of deck width. The length of 132" for the deck is required to allow space for gear benches (62") a deployment area aft of the gear benches (60") and space for emergency oxygen storage forward of the benches (10"). The 60" of deployment space is to allow two divers to sit side by side and deploy. The extra 10" of width for each diver (based off the 20" required for sitting and walking mentioned earlier) is to ensure the divers gear does not entangle on each other or on the boat while they are deploying. SEFSC also has custom accessories designed for the nature of their work and these accessories were fabricated for the specific hull. The value of these accessories is approximately $10,000.00. 1. Two gear bench/ storage units. Each unit is 21" x 61" x 20" with a built in Cylinder rack and securing straps. These units are each designed to hold and secure 6 Aluminum 80 cylinders and 3 full sets of SCUBA gear. They are built with storage underneath to keep each diver's unused gear off the deck and fold away to accommodate other projects. To be made foldable and support the weight of 3 divers in full gear and 6 cylinders they were built extra robust. 2. One extended canopy with grab bars. The canopy is fully constructed of welded aluminum and a UV resistant Nylon/Poly canopy cover. The canopy is built wide enough to cover the benches and provide shelter to seated divers and long enough to shelter 2/3rds of the deck area. The canopy is intended to provide shelter as well as support standing divers as they move aft to deploy in large seas. It has built in hand holds and can support the weight of 2 fully geared divers. 3. Custom cabinetry built to store safety equipment (Back board, Dive Medical Kit, Emergency Oxygen Kit, Dive Master Kit) and field support equipment and spare gear. Sources Sought This sources sought notice is not a request for competitive offers and no solicitation package is available. However, firms that believe they can provide the required boat may submit substantiating documentation in writing within ten days of this notice. Responses can be faxed to Shelley Smith at
+1 (555) 000-0000 or sent via e-mail to
contact@example.gov. Documentation will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to conduct a competitive procurement, based upon response to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. DOC, Eastern Region Acquisitions Division-Kansas City requires that all contractors doing business with this office be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM). No award can be made to a company not registered in SAM. For additional information and to register in SAM, please access the following web site: www.sam.gov. To register, all contractors must have a Dun and Bradstreet number. A Dun and Bradstreet number may be acquired free of charge by contacting Dun and Bradstreet on-line at http://www.dnb.com/eupdate or by telephone at
+1 (555) 000-0000.
