In March 2024, an Industry Forum was held by the Navy Crane Center. The intent of the Industry Forum was to perform market research on the procurement of portal cranes for the U.S. Navy, which was accomplished due to the support and feedback received from industry. We have continued to evaluate the feedback received and have taken tactical actions across the corporation still aimed at improving the procurement process for U.S. Navy portal cranes. The demand has not changed - The U.S. Navy has identified the need to procure 40-50 portal cranes over the next 30 years.

We are returning to industry for additional feedback on shipping, assembly, acceptance testing, and reliability testing. Historically, U.S. Navy portal crane contracts require complete assembly and acceptance testing of the crane prior to shipment but have not required reliability testing. This requires the builder to have the requisite infrastructure (e.g. laydown space, straight and curved rails at varying gage, etc.), a location that is beneficial for large shipments (i.e. typically on or adjacent to a major waterway), and partial disassembly and reassembly of the crane to some degree to facilitate shipping. Additionally, there is limited availability of transport contractors experienced and available for shipping this size/type of cargo and the associated cost and planning time is substantial. The U.S. Navy recognizes these challenges faced by potential portal crane builders and is committed to evaluating improvements to the process based on additional feedback from the industry.

We are considering two alternative options to the current practice for shipping, assembly and acceptance testing. The first is to allow for assembly and acceptance testing to occur at the supported command (i.e. the location the crane will actually be used). The second option is for the government to procure, and make available to contractors, a facility (or multiple facilities, one on each coast) dedicated to portal crane assembly and testing. This facility will be equipped with the necessary infrastructure (e.g. rails and lay down space). With this option, the government will be responsible for separately contracting crane shipment from the dedicated facility to the supported command. Both of these options will allow the crane to be shipped in smaller sub- assemblies. The cranes will have to be assembled and tested on-site. Any modifications or deficiency resolution will have to occur on-site as well. There will be government safety and security protocol for the contractor to adhere to. For the purpose of this discussion, acceptance testing is defined as a one-time test of safety features (e.g. hoist limits) and a loaded test. Reliability testing is defined as conducting contractually prescribed weighted crane operations of varying weights and movements. To further evaluate each of these options in comparison to the current practice, we respectfully request that responses are provided for the following questions by July 11, 2025. Please email responses to [email protected].

1. Generally, what is your company’s preference for shipping, assembly, and testing?
2. Do either of the options discussed above increase/decrease the likelihood for your company to bid on a contract to design and build portal cranes for the U.S. Navy?
3. If final assembly and testing is to occur at a government facility, what is your company’s preference for shipping and assembly? Would your company send a series of smaller shipments over the road on standard trailers with a majority of assembly occurring at the government facility? Or would your company prefer to send larger sub-assemblies, potentially as oversize loads over the road or by barge/boat, with only final assembly occurring at the government facility?
4. How much space is required to be dedicated to the contractor for portal crane assembly at a government facility? Consider laydown space, trailer space, parking vehicles/lifts/equipment, tools, assembly space, etc.
5. What is the anticipated duration for final assembly and acceptance testing? Consider time required for troubleshooting, making field modifications, etc.
6. What are the potential cost savings for the government, per crane, by either of the paths for crane assembly and acceptance testing at a government facility? Consider savings related to shipping and disassembly/reassembly but also the additional overhead costs of operating on a government facility for a period of time. Please express in percentage of overall cost of the crane.
7. What do you recommend for the amount of time and/or number of lifts required for proving reliability? What is the anticipated cost associated with the contractor performing reliability testing?
8. Does your company have the facilities and space to currently fully erect multiple portal cranes at once or would you need to lease/partner with another entity to acquire that space? If you need to acquire additional space, would you anticipate getting the space close to the final delivery site or closer to your company location? Looking for feedback on the pros and cons of an assembly site close to final delivery site and what the associated cost impact on the project would be.
9. Shipping questions:
   • What are the challenges associated with shipping an assembled (or mostly assembled) portal crane
   • What is the availability of transportation contractors to ship an assembled (or mostly assembled) portal crane? What is the lead time required to schedule these contractors?
   • What are the potential cost savings for shipping smaller sub-assemblies for final assembly on- site in comparison to shipping an assembled (or mostly assembled) portal crane?
   • What is an approximate shipping cost as a percentage of total contract value to ship a single portal crane fully assembled?
   • What are the potential cost savings by shipping multiple cranes on the same shipment to the same location as opposed to shipping a single crane? What are the same potential cost savings with shipping to multiple locations?
   • Are vessels more readily available that meet the Jones Act or DFARS 252.247-7023 Transportation of Supplies by Sea (as applicable) for one or multiple crane shipments in a non- assembled state?
   • Are there recommendations for changes to US government shipping requirements as it pertains to shipping portal cranes (e.g. US Flag shipping requirements, open water requirements, etc…) noting that NCC policy is currently to prohibit barges for open water shipping?