U. S. Department of Commerce, Attn: Penny S. Parker, National Data Buoy Center, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000

20 -- BUOYANT PLATFORMS SOL 40-QANW-7-00191 DUE 060697 POC Sandra J. Mueller, Contract Specialist, phone (601) 688-1706, fax (601) 688-3153. The National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) seeks potential sources for a commercial off-the-shelf buoyant platform to be deployed in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 37 kilometers south of Gulfport, Mississippi. Vendor will be required to deploy the buoyant platform in a water depth of approximately 12.2 meters. The platform will be used to collect meteorological and oceanographic data. The platform, must be positively buoyant, have a small water plane area, and be attached directly to the sea floor at a single point in order to prevent rotation and reduced heeling. Government furnished equipment will be installed near the top of the platform, at a height of 10 meters above the water line and will weigh approximately 400 kilograms. The platform must have a deck and access ladder to allow servicing of the equipment. Minimum requirements for the buoyant platform are: 80 kilometers/hour winds, 1.5 meter waves, 3.7 kilometers/hour current, and a tidal range of 0.6 meters. The platform must remain within four degrees of the vertical under these combined design conditions. In addition, the platform must be able to survive 200 kilometers/hour winds and 6 meter waves. A minimum service life of ten years is required without any replacement of the platform components. The design life of the platform must be at least 20 years. Interested offerors should submit capability statements, including experience and performance data from similar platforms which have previously been deployed to Sandra J. Mueller, National Data Buoy Center, Building 1100, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000. Fax (601) 688-3153. On-site deployment required. FOB Destination. (0139)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0222 19970522\20-0004.SOL)