SOLICITATION NOTICE
V -- Vessel Services to Retrieve Two (2) NOAA Buoys off the Coast of Mexico - RFQ
- Notice Date
- 4/9/2014
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 483111
— Deep Sea Freight Transportation
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Region-National Data Buoy Center, National Data Buoy Center, Building 1007 - Procurement Team, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, 39529-6000, United States
- ZIP Code
- 39529-6000
- Solicitation Number
- EA-133W-14-RQ-0160
- Archive Date
- 5/8/2014
- Point of Contact
- Kurt Charles Weilbaecher, Phone: 228-688-2825, Brendon Johnson, Phone: 757-441-3344
- E-Mail Address
-
kurt.weilbaecher@noaa.gov, brendon.johnson@noaa.gov
(kurt.weilbaecher@noaa.gov, brendon.johnson@noaa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- Request for Quote (RFQ) The Eastern Acquisition Division (EAD) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Norfolk, VA is soliciting quotes, on behalf of the National Weather Service's National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) for vessel services to provide towing vessel, crew, fuel, consumables, additional hawser, additional tag lines, and all materials required to disconnect two (2) buoys from their moorings at sea, tow them into port and secure them to a dock in accordance with the attached Statement of Work (SOW), dated February 13, 2014. Background Information: NOAA buoys 12D12 and 12D13 were deployed at stations 42055 and 42056, respectively, in May 2005. They have both been decommissioned as weather stations and now contain only obstruction lights and position transmitters. Upon being decommissioned, they were designated as 42A55 and 42A56, though their towers are still marked with their original station numbers. 42A55 is at 22° 1'2"N, 94° 2'45"W, and 200 nautical miles Northeast of Heroica Veracruz, Mexico. 42A56 is at 19°52'27"N, 85° 3'33"W, 120 nautical miles Southeast of Cancun, QROO, Mexico. On April 19, 2012, NOAA removed all equipment and batteries from 42A55 and installed and GPS tracker and solar powered flashing light (Carmanah 702). On March 28, 2013, NOAA removed all equipment from 42A56 and installed a GPS tracker and solar powered flashing light (Carmanah 702). The buoy still contains 420 air-alkaline batteries (Cegasa AS10-2, approximately 20 pounds each). The tracker normally reports position every 12 hours. NOAA no longer uses this type of buoy and no longer needs these hulls, so their ownership can be transferred to the vendor, and they can be salvaged for scrap metal. Within 5 calendar days of the buoys' arrival at the dock, NOAA will send two technicians to the docking location to check all buoy compartments for hazardous atmosphere (oxygen and explosive gases) and make the compartments safe to open and enter. NOAA personnel will also remove the obstruction lights and position trackers. See attached Statement of Work (SOW), dated February 13, 2014, for additional information. Also, additional background information can be found on our website at: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/. This is a best value, competitive requirement. The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible quoter whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The Government reserves the right to award to other than the lowest priced quoter or to the quoter with the highest technical score if the Contracting Officer determines that to do so would result in the best value to the Government. The following factors, which are listed in descending order of importance, shall be used to evaluate offers: (1) Technical; (2) Past Performance; and (3) Price Factors 1 and 2, when combined, are significantly more important than price. Quoters shall submit the following technical information for Government review and evaluation: (1) Proposed vessel description, including overall length and brake horsepower; (2) Proposed method of freeing the buoy from its mooring; (3) Proposed port(s) that buoys will be towed back/delivered; (4) Name, address, and phone number of individual(s) or organization(s) that will take possession of the buoys from the Government upon delivery to the proposed port; (5) Past Performance Information; and (6) Price This is a 100% Total Small Business Set-aside. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the acquisition is 483111 Deep Sea Freight Transportation. The small business size standard is 500 employees. NOAA anticipates awarding one firm fixed-price contract as a result of this solicitation. The solicitation and proposed fixed-price contract will be issued utilizing FAR Part 12 and FAR Subpart 13.5, Test Program For Certain Commercial Items. All responsible sources may submit a quote that shall be considered by the agency. To be eligible for award, vendors must obtain a DUNS number (this may be done by calling 1-800-333-0505) and be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM): www.sam.gov. The Solicitation EA-133W-14-RQ-0160 is attached to this notice. Also, the Government response to vendor questions during market research are below: QUESTION #1: How is it verified that the 1-1/2" Chain (38') is definitely on the deck of the buoy for disconnection to the mooring? RESPONSE: The last time we visited the buoys (42A55 in 2012 and 42A56 in 2013), the retrieval pendant was still attached and the 38 ft chain still faked out on deck. However, due to the age of the buoy, the Government cannot guarantee that these retrieval chains are still present and still usable. Please refer to the mooring diagrams on the Statement of Work (SOW), Appendix 1 & 2. The Contractor will be responsible for disconnecting the buoy from the mooring. Refer to the SOW, under "Requirements", 1st paragraph. QUESTION #2: Is the mooring system simply being left on the seafloor? RESPONSE: The mooring system can be left on the sea floor. Leaving a small section of chain attached to the nylon after cutting the buoy free will weigh the nylon down and drag it below any ship or submersible traffic. Or the contractor has the option to retrieve the mooring and bring back to shore. But if retrieved, the Government will not take possession of the mooring. QUESTION #3: Is it preferable that the buoys come back to US port or doesn't it matter? RESPONSE: It does not matter what country the buoys are brought to. However, the vendor's technical proposal must give reasonable assurance that the buoy will be brought ashore, rendered incapable of going adrift at sea again, and disposed of according to local laws and regulations. QUESTION #4: What waters are the buoys located? Do we need a special permit or preauthorization from Mexico before we can enter these waters? RESPONSE: The 2 NOAA buoys are located off the coast of Mexico and are considered to be in international waters, but they are in an area called, "Exclusive Economic Zone". The Contractor will be responsible for verifying the entry requirements with the Mexican authorities. QUESTION #5: Where can the Contractor connect his vessel's tow line/pick up line to the 12 meter buoy hull? RESPONSE: The Contractor can connect to the buoy's towing pendant. This towing pendant is made up of a 1-3/4 inch nylon line wrapped with tape. The pendant was left on the buoy and would be lying on the buoy deck. This pendant line has been out in the sun for 9 years, so it is probably degraded and not usable. QUESTION #6: What type of batteries is inside the 2 buoys and who is responsible for removal? RESPONSE: Only buoy station 42A56 has batteries inside its hull. The buoy still contains 420 air-alkaline batteries (Cegasa AS10-2, approximately 20 pounds each). The Contractor is responsible for the removal of the batteries. The Government will check all buoy compartments for hazardous atmosphere (oxygen and explosive gases) and make the compartments safe to open and enter. The MSDS is available for these batteries and can be sent to the Contractor if requested. QUESTION #7: How much do the buoys weigh? RESPONSE: Each buoy weighs 192,900 lbs of which 45 percent is water ballast. QUESTION #8: How is the mooring to be removed? RESPONSE: The Contractor is responsible for disconnecting the buoys from the mooring. The technical approach to perform this task is the Contractor's decision. As part of the Government's technical evaluation, we will evaluate each Contractor's technical approach. Refer to Appendix 1 and 2 of the SOW which shows the mooring design. Amendments to the solicitation will also be provided on the Internet using the same protocol listed above. Telephone requests for hard copies will not be honored. Questions regarding this solicitation should be addressed to Kurt.Weilbaecher@noaa.gov. Quotes will be accepted electronically at the following email address: Kurt.Weilbaecher@noaa.gov and via facsimile at (228) 688-3153.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NOAA/NDBC/EA-133W-14-RQ-0160/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, 39529, United States
- Zip Code: 39529
- Zip Code: 39529
- Record
- SN03334020-W 20140411/140410021226-ba4905fa2e5c4e3d0d7e0bcd083a02a7 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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