Intent to Award Sole Source the Purchase of ShipLoc, Ship Security Alert System (SSAS) Services

The US Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Region Acquisition Division, Simplified Acquisition Branch intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with The Woods Hole Group, Inc., 81 Technology Pk Drive, East Falmouth, MA 02536, using the procedures in FAR Part 13, to provide for the purchase of Shiploc, an ARGOS based ship tracking system compliant with the IMO regulation SOLAS XI-2-6. Shiploc is a Ship Security Alert System (SSAS) that alerts competent authority in case of an emergency. The Shiploc system provides tracking of all NOAA ships 50 times per day displayed on a dedicated website with complete maritime maps. The system monitors the exact location of NOAA vessels anywhere in the world at any time. The system displays data such as speed, location, heading and time of the last NOAA ship position. One can visualize maritime weather data: wind, waves, air pressure and calculate the ETA of NOAA vessels. Alerts to Service ARGOS followed by communications to NOAA and the US Coast Guard occurs if a crew member pushes the alert button. The notification is sent to the ship owner and to the competent authorities by email, voice and fax messages. The discrete message is undetectable on-board or by surrounding ships. CLS operators monitor incoming alerts 24/7 365 days a year. Data messages are completely tamper-proof, secure and reliable. They cannot be falsified in any way. Shiploc, an ARGOS based ship tracking system compliant with the IMO regulation SOLAS XI-2-6, is a Ship Security Alert System (SSAS) that alerts competent authority in case of an emergency. ShipLoc is the only Ship Security Alert System approved by the International Maritime Bureau (IBM) and is compliant with the IMO regulation SOLAS XI-2-6 The statutory authority for other than full and open competition is FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i), Only one responsible source. The Period of Performance for the base year is July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020 with four (4) one (1) year option periods. The North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) for this acquisition is 518210 with a business size standard of $32.5M. This is not a solicitation for competitive quotes, nor will one be posted on FedBizOpps. Although a determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. However, if any interested party believes that it is capable of meeting the requirements, and in an effort to comply with the requirements outlined in FAR 5.102, a firm may request an electronic copy of the solicitation from the Contract Specialist, Wendy Culbreth (contact@example.gov). All electronic correspondence/request for solicitation shall have the subject line read: Announcement Number: 1305M2-19-01177, Shiploc, Ship Tracking / Security Alert System (SSAS). All responsible sources may submit a Capability Statement and/or a quote in accordance with the solicitation, which shall be considered by the agency if received on or before 11:00 PM EST on June 12, 2019. The Capability Statement must contain material in sufficient detail to allow NOAA to determine if the party can meet all of the requirements. The solicitation will remain open from 05/29/2019 to 06/12/2019.