sole source vessel lease of a Small Vessel Operations Pier (SVOP) demonstration project

This is posted in accordance with FAR 5.203 Publicizing and Response Time. This is not an invitation for proposal. No proposals will be accepted. This is a short term vessel use for an exercise, and is not tied to any procurement. Please direct comments or questions to +1 (555) 000-0000 The purpose of the SVOP is to allow the routine support of small vessel operations from larger supporting ships such as the JHSV, Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), and amphibious support ships operating in littoral environments. The SVOP will allow small boats to refuel, change crews, and re-supply while secured to the SVOP in place of making transfers via rope ladders. The SVOP concept of operations includes transfers between ships moored at pier, anchored in shallow coastal waters, and while making way at low speeds (2-3 knots) in open water. Maritime Applied Physics Corporation (MAPC) of Baltimore, Maryland, has developed an SVOP design that utilizes low cost, rugged, commercial-off-the-shelf components and allows for rapid deployment and recovery using common ship’s support systems. Earlier in FY15, the US Navy Fleet Forces Command/Naval Warfare Development Command (USNFFC/NWDC) tasked EXWC to conduct preliminary testing pier-side and in-harbor using a surrogate vessel to replicate the side walls of the JHSV. The purpose of the Phase 1 tests was to determine the operational utility and seaworthiness of the concept to support the decision of whether or not to include the SVOP in full-scale JHSV experimentation later in FY15. The Phase 1 tests were completed earlier in FY15 under separate contract competed through the NAVFAC EXWC Oceans MAC. The promising results from the Phase 1 tests led USNFFC/NWDC to task EXWC to conduct more advanced testing of the concept of the SVOP as part of JSHV FLEX-15 Counter-Illicit Trafficking (CIT) exercises in Key West, Florida. These exercises will include both a JHSV and 11-meter Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boats (RHIB’s). Because of the great expense and scheduling restrictions for the JHSV’s, tests of concepts like the SVOP with actual JHSV assets must be completed in conjunction with existing JSHV exercises. The goal of the Phase 2 tests is to demonstrate the deployment and retrieval of the SVOP from a Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) and to evaluate its suitability for enabling the JHSV to act as an Afloat Forward Staging Base for forces using smaller boats including the 11-meter RHIB.