Marine Habitat Submersible and Support Vessel Charter

SOURCES SOUGHT Posting Type: Sources Sought Posting Date: June 3, 2016 Contract Specialist: Casey St.Clair, Contractor Requirement: Marine Habitat Submersible and Support Vessel Charter THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT. IT IS NOT A SOLICITATION, NOR DOES IT GUARANTEE A SOLICITATION WILL BE ISSUED. REQUESTS FOR A SOLICITATION WILL NOT RECEIVE A RESPONSE. Any information submitted in response to this Sources Sought Announcement is strictly voluntary. The Government will neither award a contract solely on the basis of this notice, nor pay for any information that may be submitted by respondents. This notice is a request by the Government to collect information from interested vendors for the purpose of market research. Failure to provide a response to this announcement will not prohibit/exclude an interested vendor from participating in a future solicitation. REQUIREMENT The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) Fisheries Ecology Division (FED) has a need to contract for a manned submersible and support vessel in waters off southern California. The submersible will be used to make visual observations, assist in deploying, positioning, and retrieving experimental surveillance gear (each weighing up to 250 pounds (lbs)), and survey demersal fishes and associated habitats on rocky offshore banks at depths of 80-150 meters (m). The main objective of this work is to understand the effects of mobile survey vehicles on the behavior of rockfish species living in deep rocky habitats. Performance capability of the contracted dive system is critical to the success of this research. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS Submersible Requirements. 1. The contractor shall provide at least two (2) fully qualified pilots for the submersible, for the purpose of alternating dive participation, and two support crew members to assist with deck operations, navigation, tracking, and communication with submersible (for a total of at least 4 personnel). 2. The submersible shall be capable of regularly operating to a depth of 360 meters sea water and must be able to operate in contact with the seafloor over rugged substrate that includes boulders, pinnacles and rockwalls. The submersible shall be certified American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), or recognized equivalent, to this depth, with appropriate documentation of inspection and construction to be presented within two (2) weeks of the scheduled charter. 3. The submersible crew and support crew shall be capable of providing a total of 8 hours of submergence during a research dive day. The submersible shall be highly maneuverable and capable of performing multiple dives per day while operating with external lights on and frequent use of external strobes. The submersible shall have a means to deploy and retrieve sampling gear (weighing approximately 250 lbs in air; estimated dimensions 1.5 m height x 1.0 m width x 1.5 m length) from the sea surface to the seafloor and return. 4. Exterior lighting and illumination capable of providing sufficient light for video imaging of objects at a distance of at least 5 m from the submersible at maximum operating depths is required. A through-hull electrical connection to the exterior strobes shall be provided for use with internal hand-held cameras. An external, high-definition color video camera capable of being mounted on the front or the side of the submersible in such a way as to generate high quality video record of transects, along the sea floor, with viewing angle adjustable from horizontal to vertical is required. The video system shall include a monitor, digital recording deck, and have datalogger capability (PISCES design or similar) encoded with synchronous data on time, date, and depth. The video system will include externally mounted multiple lasers for measuring objects and distance on the seafloor and for camera positioning. In addition, the submersible shall be outfitted with calibrated depth and altimeter sensors that are linked to an operational data logging system. All sensor and navigation data will be provided to chief scientist each evening as digital ASCII-format files. 5. The submersible shall have an articulated manipulator arm to deploy and retrieve gear on the seafloor. 6. Equipment for communication from underwater submersible to support vessel shall be provided. Minimum range for such equipment (underwater model) shall be one-half mile. During surface operations, the submersible must have a means for visual contact (functional strobe and locating beacon as a minimum). 7. The submersible's contractor shall have an operations procedure manual including emergency procedures and safety precautions. All observers/scientists will be briefed on these safety procedures and precautions prior to diving. Submersible supplies shall include air/regulator for pilot and scientist; insulated emergency suits for prolonged submergence. The life support system (02 + C02 scrubber) of the submersible must be capable of supporting submersible occupants for at least 72 hours at an ambient temperature range of one (1) to twelve (12) degrees centigrade. 8. The submersible shall have a functional acoustic tracking beacon for acquisition of depth/range from the support ship (e.g., Trackpoint II type and Winfrog, or equivalent). The submersible crew member that operates this equipment will need to precisely track the submersible relative to fixed surveillance gear on the seafloor, and provide a digital ASCII-formatted file of navigational data synchronized with time for each track. Precision of these navigational data is critical to the success of our project. 9. Contractor team including all submersible pilots shall have at least 5 years of professional experience using a submersible to conduct scientific visual surveys on the seafloor. Support Vessel Requirements: 1. The support vessel shall be of sufficient size, minimum length of 100 feet overall, to safely launch and recover the submersible and special oceanographic equipment. The support vessel shall meet US Coast Guard requirements for certification and safety inspection. This must be demonstrated at time of contracting. 2. The crew will consist of a captain, first mate, engineer, cook, and deck hand. 3. The support vessel shall be highly responsive for precise positioning and submersible retrieval. 4. The support vessel shall be available to mobilize on the dates specified for this project. 5. Bridge to deck communication (VHF or hardwire) and unobstructed view of the submersible is required for launch/retrieval operations. 6. The support vessel shall have a complete hydraulic-powered launch and retrieval system with two times (2X) manned submersible weight capacity for precisely maneuvering the submersible from the deck cradle into and out of the water. 7. The support vessel shall provide a minimum of 50 kW of 120 volt AC electrical power within 80 ft of deck-mounted submersible operations center. Three-phase 220 volt power is desirable. 8. The support vessel shall be capable of remaining at sea for at least ten (10) days without resupplying and capable of cruising at least nine (9) knots to minimize transit time. The required work-day duration will be 12 hours of submersible support dive time and surface-oriented oceanographic research during daylight hours. 9. The total launch-and-recovery system shall not require scientific personnel to participate in the at-sea operations of the submersible handling of the launch and recovery system. 10. Berthing (including clean, dry bunks, bedding, linen, blankets and towels), food, fresh water, survival suits, etc. for a scientific crew of at least eight (8) persons shall be provided by the support vessel in addition to the staffed submersible crew (4 persons). Food provided shall be of high quality, sufficient quantity, and well prepared, during the general hours of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 11. The support vessel shall provide laboratory space for the scientific personnel, including at least a suitable desk or dry counter work space of about 40 sq ft for data preparation and video viewing and post-dive procedures. Video viewing equipment will be provided by government (not the vendor). 12. The support vessel shall provide at least 500 cu ft of readily accessible, dry, clean storage space for equipment. 13. The support vessel shall provide at least 100 sq ft of open deck space to store research surveillance modules that are provided by the government. 14. The support vessel shall be equipped with fully operating primary and back-up units for standard ship's navigation (including radar and differential Global Positioning System (dGPS)) for at-sea operations. 15. The support vessel shall have a high resolution recording fathometer (minimum accuracy of plus or minus 1 m in 305 m of water). 16. The support vessel shall have both primary and back-up single sideband (SSB) and very high frequency (VHF) units for standard ship-to-shore communications capability, including access to the marine operator at distances from shore required by the operating areas (25 miles). 17. The support ship shall carry at least one seaworthy skiff (e.g., 18 ft inflatable with 25 hp outboard), which may be launched as a dive tender and for transportation to shore at remote locations. 18. The support ship shall provide a safe means of boarding and deboarding personnel and equipment. 19. All safety equipment on the support vessel shall be functional. It is anticipated that the Government will award a Firm Fixed Price contract comprised of a base period and options covering up to five years. The anticipated award date is expected to be on or about October 1, 2016. The North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) is 483112 with a size standard of 1500 employees. Interested Contractors are requested to provide the following information in response to this Sources Sought Announcement: 1) A statement that you believe your firm has the capability to meet all these requirements and perform these services; 2) Your firm's DUNS number; 3) Size status of your firm under the corresponding NAICS code. If your firm is a small business, specifically identify the type of small business; 4) A brief description of your firm's recent past experience (within past 3 years) performing similar services. The information provided in response to this announcement is limited to five (5) pages or less. All information shall be provided free of charge to the Government. The Government will not return any data provided in response to this announcement. This request for information does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for proprietary information not properly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. Responses shall be provided to Contract Specialist, Casey St.Clair via email at casey.st.clair@noaa.gov no later than 10:00 AM (Pacific Time) on Monday, June 20, 2016.