USS Monitor Artifact Conservation

SOLICITATION 1305M226Q0135

The Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Acquisition Division, on behalf of the National Ocean Service (NOS), Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), Monitor National Marine Sanctuary (MNMS), has a requirement for professional conservation services for the ongoing active and preventative conservation care of the USS Monitor Collection.

The Government intends to award a Firm-Fixed-Price contract to The Mariners' Museum and Park (TMMP) utilizing the policies and procedures in the Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul (RFO) 12.202-1. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is RFO 6.302-1. The Notice of Intent to award a Sole Source procurement was posted on April 27, 2026, under Notice ID REQUIREMENTS-26-1909.

The MNMS possesses over 210 tons of archaeological materials from the wreck site of the Civil War Ironclad USS Monitor, which was lost at sea in 1862 following the largest metal shipwreck excavation and recovery effort ever undertaken. Artifacts (the “Collection”) were recovered from the seabed over the course of several years of research. This federally owned collection (NOAA Heritage Assets) contains over 5,000 individual artifacts made of a wide variety of materials—primarily iron and ferrous materials, but also including wood, leather, textiles, rubber, and various other organic and inorganic artifacts. This requires an intensely diverse and complex approach to materials conservation to ensure each different type and size of material is appropriately treated to ensure long-term stability for research, interpretation, and display.

The USS Monitor artifacts now reside at The Mariners’ Museum and Park (TMMP) within the U.S.S. Monitor Center and the Batten Conservation Complex in Newport News, VA, where they are on long-term deposit undergoing active conservation treatment. The primary place of performance for this requirement will be at TMMP in Newport News, VA.

These objects range in size from small buttons and fragments of textiles to nearly the entirety of the vessel's engineering section, including the 25-ton propulsion engines. In addition, TMMP holds Monitor’s iconic 115-ton rotating gun turret, as well as the two 8-ton Dahlgren shell guns and their carriages that were found within it. All of the objects require stabilization treatment due to nearly 140 years of marine burial. Treatment times and stabilization will vary for artifacts based on size and complexity, ranging from weeks to months to years. Many of the larger object assemblies are composed of hundreds to thousands of component parts that will ultimately need to be disassembled and receive individual treatment with the goal of reassembly post-treatment.

Following treatment, objects will require ongoing preventive care and monitoring to ensure the physical stability of the archaeological assemblage for the future within both storage and display. The USS Monitor project at TMMP represents the long-term preservation of U.S. Civil War heritage and the world’s largest marine archaeological metals conservation project. The artifacts within the USS Monitor National Marine Sanctuary Artifact Collection are extremely fragile and vulnerable to irreparable damage and destabilization if they were to be moved from their current location at TMMP. TMMP also contains the Batten Conservation Laboratory Complex, which was specifically built to conserve the Monitor Collection, and a 40/5 ton overhead crane designed to handle and maneuver large artifacts, including the 20-ton steam engine and the Dahlgren guns and carriages.

The anticipated award date is September 2026. The anticipated period of performance includes a base period of one year with four additional one-year option periods. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541690, Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services, with a size standard of $19 Million.

Potential contractors are hereby notified that the solicitation and subsequent amendments to the solicitation will be made available upon request by contacting the Contract Specialist identified in this notice. This office will not post the solicitation on the Government Point of Entry and will not issue hard copy solicitations. All responsible sources may submit a quotation, which shall be considered by the agency. All quotations are due by July 20, 2026, at 12:00 PM ET.

By submission of a quotation, the contractor acknowledges the requirement that a prospective awardee must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database prior to award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract resulting from this solicitation, except for awards to foreign vendors for work to be performed outside the United States. Lack of registration in the SAM database will make a contractor ineligible for award. Contractors may obtain information on registration and annual confirmation requirements via the Internet at https://www.sam.gov. Please direct all questions regarding this requirement via e-mail by 5:00 PM ET on June 30, 2026, to the points of contact identified in this notice.