THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL SERVICES PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6, AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTES ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED. The Request for Quotation (RFQ) number is EE-133C-14-RQ-0593. In accordance with FAR 19.5 this action is reserved exclusively for small business concerns. The U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, National Ocean Service, NCCOS, Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research (CCFHR), Beaufort Laboratory, Beaufort, NC has a requirement for Vessel Charter, crew for seagoing vessel. The requirements are provided in accordance with the following: Purpose: Vessel Charter Services for Offshore North Carolina Reef Fish Research Contractor to provide vessel and crew for charter services to include up to eight trips/days or equivalent aboard a seagoing vessel. The contractor will provide charter services for marine science research specific to deployment of fish trapping devices. Period of Performance: August 1, 2014 -Sept. 1, 2015. Background: Invasive lionfish are colonizing tropical and temperate western Atlantic marine habitats at alarming rates and are being shown to have deleterious effects on native marine life. Current removal strategies involve diver/snorkeler focused searches and removals of individual fish using hand nets or spears. Removals are being shown to have positive effects on the recovery of native prey fish populations. However, invasive lionfish are often broadly spread over available habitat. Time and logistic expense of searching and removing invasive lionfish in these areas can be significant. In the absence of other structure, invasive lionfish may be patchily distributed in high abundance in areas of high rugosity (complexity) and relief. These areas often consist of artificial structures in the absence of other nearby habitat. In order to maximize effectiveness and cost of removals, methods of aggregating invasive lionfish are needed. Development of Lionfish Aggregati ng Devices and Structures (LADs) may lead to higher catch per unit effort (CPUE) and a greater effect of removals. Additionally, effective aggregating structures may be modified into broadly deployable traps suitable for use in the larger scale commercial fishing industry. Statement of Work: The Vessel must meet the Government's requirements and have at a minimum the following capabilities: 1. access to hard-bottom and artificial habitats 40 - 50 miles off the coast of North Carolina (Beaufort Inlet); 2. performing of bottom fishing operations; 3. deployment and retrieval of up to 20 Maine lobster traps or other similar trapping devices as provided by the Government; 4. transporting at least 18 divers and gear including Federal scientists and contractors; 5. performing bottom mapping missions using single beam searchlight sonar technology suitable for marking aggregations of reef fishes; 6. housing approximately 100 live adult reef fish. Live tank must be equipped with flow-through; 7. seawater at a rate to exceed 5 gallons per minute; and 8. providing 110v electricity to main deck. IT SECURITY REQUIREMENTS: The Certification and Accreditation (C&A) or Assessment and Authentication (A&A) requirements of Clause 48 CFR 1352.239-72 do not apply, and a Security Accreditation Package is not required. This procurement is being solicited as Small Business set- aside in full and open competition. The resulting purchase order will be negotiated as a firm-fixed price Purchase Order. Hard copies of the RFQ will not be issued. Electronic submission of the contractor's proposal is hereby authorized, but must be transmitted by the posted response date and time. To be eligible for award, offerors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) to be considered for an award of a federal contract. For information regarding registration in SAM contact the SAM website at www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/; offerors must also obtain a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and provide it with the offer. All responsible sources may submit a quote, which shall be considered by the agency. The FSC for this is B516, the NAICS Code is 487210 and the UNSPSC is 70101602, small business size standard is 500 employees. The government intends to award a firm-fixed price purchase order for this requirement. Incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-74. Offerors must comply with the following commercial item terms and conditions. FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial, applies to this acquisition. Evaluation will be in accordance with FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation-Commercial Items. Award will be made to the responsible, responsive offeror whose offer will result in the lowest technically acceptable price and who can best meet the required location. FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items and 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (MAY 2014) applies and the following additional FAR clauses cited in the clause at paragraph (b) are applicable to this acquisition, as such consider the following clauses checked, (10),(14), (25), (28), (30), (31), (33), (40), (44) and (50). The following addenda or additional terms and conditions apply; None. No Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) rating is assigned. Offers must be submitted to the Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research, 101 Pivers Island Road, Beaufort, NC 28516-9722 by 2:00 P.M. JULY 9, 2014. Vendors whose offer expires prior to closing date will not be accepted. Offers maybe sent via email to
contact@example.gov. Inquiries will only be accepted via email to
contact@example.gov.
