Top

Two Sea-Bird 24-Position Carousels

Active

NRMAD000-15-01393-1Federal

Contract Overview

Solicitation details, issuing organization, response deadlines, documents, and interested companies for this government contract opportunity.

AI Contract Overview

The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plans to award a sole source contract to Sea-Bird Electronics, Inc. for the purchase of two 24-position carousels specifically designed for water sampling. These carousels will support the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) in Miami, Florida, and are essential for use with existing Sea-Bird 911 Plus Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) systems already owned by NOAA/AOML's Physical Oceanography Division. The purchase ensures full compatibility and interchangeability with the current equipment, which is critical for maintaining operational consistency, minimizing training requirements, and preserving data quality during oceanographic research cruises. The contract specifies the acquisition of two full-size carousel water samplers, their aluminum housings capable of holding 24 bottles each at depths up to 6800 meters, and interfaces compatible with various Sea-Bird CTD and deck unit configurations. Sole source justification is based on the absence of alternative suppliers able to provide identical units, as well as the proprietary nature of the control software integral to the operation of the carousels. Use of non-identical equipment could damage expensive CTD instruments, compromise data quality, and require prohibitive investments in software redevelopment and testing. The procurement aims to support NOAA’s ongoing mission with equipment that seamlessly integrates into their existing oceanographic data collection systems.

General Info

NOAA awards sole source contract to Sea-Bird Electronics for two compatible 24-position water sampling carousels.

Agency

Department Of Commerce Noaa

NAICS

334519 - Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing

Place of Performance

Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory 4301 Rickenbacker Causeway, MIAMI, FL, 33149, USA

Set-Aside

NONE

Documents

No documents available

Documents will appear here when they are available.

AI Contract Breakdown

Uniform Contract Format

No documents to break down

The breakdown needs solicitation documents. None were found from this contract's source.

Timeline

PostedJul 6

special-notice

Ready to pursue this opportunity?

Get full access to track this contract, build proposals with AI assistance, and manage your pipeline.

Organization & Contact Information

AgencyDepartment Of Commerce Noaa

Contacts1 person available

OfficeNORFOLK, VA, 23510, USA

Organization / AgencyDepartment Of Commerce Noaa

Office AddressNORFOLK, VA, 23510, USA

Contacts

Shelley SmithContracting Officer

contact@example.gov

+1 (555) 000-0000

Full Description

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Region Acquisitions Division-Kansas City office intends to award, on a sole source basis, under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), with Sea-Bird Electronics, Inc., for two 24-position Sea-Bird Electronics carousels for the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) in Miami, FL. A Sources Sought notice was posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website on June 24, 2015 and closed on July 6, 2015. No responses were received. The following equipment is required: - Two (2) 32P.xxxx CAROUSEL WATER SAMPLER (full size) PYLON-includes electronics/release pylon with mounting hub - Two (2) 32P.24xx Aluminum housing 6800 meter, 24 bottle capacity - Two (2) XSG/AG connector and Modem Interface compatible with SBE 9Plus CTD and 1lplus Deck Unit, or SBE 9Plus CTD and SBE 17plus V2 or SBE19/19plus V2/25/25 plus CTD and AFM Sole Source Justification AOML's Physical Oceanography Division (PHOD) currently owns six Sea-Bird 911 Plus Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) systems and seven 24-position carousels. The CTD system is used to collect vital oceanographic data that is required to meet the goals of field projects. The required 24-position carousels will be used on upcoming cruises. These carousels are required as they are fully interchangeable with the existing carousels and have the required specifications to match the existing carousels and complementary equipment owned by NOAA/AOML/PHOD. To keep the CTDs running at sea where spare parts are not easy to obtain having full compatibility and interchangeability is important and paramount. The purchase of these carousels will reduce time spent training personnel and maintain continuity and consistency in the data collected. Furthermore, NOAA/AOML/PHOD owns four Seabird 11 deck boxes which provide the real time data acquisition and control for the 24-position carousel. The software used by NOAA/AOML/PHOD to control the Seabird 11 deck box is proprietary software developed by Seabird. The software via the SBE 11 deck box issues the commands to the 24-position carousel actuators so bottles will open and close at desired depths. The ability to determine depths for water collection assists in gaining accurate data for the chemical makeup of local water. Using a carousel that is not fully interchangeable could cause damage or malfunction to the CTD. The cost to replace a CTD is $30,000. Because of the complications that would arise, there would certainly be errors in hardware and software and thus the data collection of the field projects would be compromised . Using a carousel that is not identical would cost approximately 1 years' worth of a programmer's time to establish duplicate software routines to operate. Control/quality assurance software would need to be rewritten to handle a different data format and many hours of testing would be needed. NOANAOML/PHOD knows of no other company able to supply an identical carousel.