This is a Request for Information (RFI) notice only. This is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) and a formal solicitation is not available at this time. This RFI is for informational planning purposes and it is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue an RFP, contract, or order for any actual procurement of materials, machinery, supply or service. The Government will not pay for any effort expended or any material provided in response to this announcement. All costs associated with responding to this RFI are solely at the responding parties' expense.

This RFI is open to all interested parties both foreign and domestic.  Should an RFP for production be issued, boat designs which originate outside the U.S. are permitted as long as the prime contractor can meet all domestic United States manufacturing and solicitation requirements. 

Responses to this notice are not offers and will not be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract or agreement. The Government will not be obligated to pursue any particular acquisition alternative because of this RFI. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future solicitation, if one is issued. Specific responses to the approaches will not disqualify or have an impact on participation and evaluation on future solicitations. No specific information is required in response to this RFI; however, interested parties may respond and indicate interest as desired.

PURPOSE:

The overall objective of this RFI is to provide industry and interested parties with information that will assist in the understanding of current technical requirements for a potential Oil Spill Response (OSR) Oil Pollution (OP) Skimmer. No specific information is required in response to this RFI; however, interested parties may respond and indicate interest as desired.

The Navy plans to award a 5-year IDIQ contract in FY22 for an estimated thirty (30) boats, to be delivered to Navy stock points in San Diego, CA, and Williamsburg, VA.

The notional schedule listed below is provided for planning purposes only. The Government is not obligated to pursue this schedule or a future solicitation because of this RFI.

1. Release final RFP 2st QTR FY22.
2. Anticipated award 4rd QTR FY22.

DESCRIPTION:

Primary mission of this OP Skimmer is to remove light refined oils (i.e. Diesel Fuel Marine (DFM) and Jet Propellant fuel (JP)) from the water surface in harbors and protected waters. Working in conjunction with the other OSR boats and various boom arrangement schemes, the OP Skimmer collects and transports the oil to an offload location.

Typical OSR mission requires Boom Platform Boats (BP’s) and Utility Boats (UB’s) to sprint to the oil spill location ahead of the OP Skimmer.  Primary mission of BP is to transport boom sections to the oil spill location.  Primary mission of the UB is to payout/deploy the 24” response boom from the BP and to tend the boom while the OP Skimmer recovers the oil. 

OSR OP Skimmer Key Characteristics:

• 30ft notional length, 10ft max beam;
• Aluminum construction with ‘semi-catamaran’ design, twin hulls forward with center slot, transitioning to mono-hull aft;
• Marco Filterbelt oil skimming module mounted on centerline with pivot assembly and hydraulic cylinder for raising and lowering the module. The Filterbelt is a 12” wide conveyor-belt style mechanism that lowers into the slot between the forward hulls to collect oil floating on the water surface;
• Three Oil Recovery Tanks (1,300 gal total capacity) for storage of oil collected by the Filterbelt module;
• Diesel Hydraulic Power Unit (HPU) and hydraulics system with controls for operation of the oil skimming module and associated support systems (Washdown pump, Transfer/Offload pump); 20 gal diesel fuel tank, and 10 gal hydraulic reservoir;
• Hydraulic Transfer/Offload pump (minimum 350 gpm) for emptying Oil Recovery Tanks to offboard stowage/handling facilities;
• Washdown system with reversible pump, three-way valve and piping to support seawater washdown or transfer of oil from alongside skimmers into onboard Oil Recovery Tanks;
• Oil Skimming Sweeps at bow, to funnel oil into the slot between the forward hulls for collection by the Filterbelt module. Sweep width can be extended by removable extender plates. Adapter plates allow sweeps to be interfaced to Oil Response Boom sections for efficient oil collection from containment facilities;
• Wheelhouse (three-sided) with control console located on aft deck;
• Twin outboard gasoline engines (90 hp each), 15 kt minimum transit speed (Oil Recovery Tanks empty), 1.5 kt nominal skimming speed, 50 gal gasoline fuel tank;
• Boat systems adhere to all applicable American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) standards and applicable Navy boat guidance documents;
• Integrated OP Skimmer/Filterbelt system certified via independent third party testing to provide Throughput Efficiency of 65%, a Recovery Efficiency of 60%, and a Recovery Rate of 6.5 gpm using American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard F 631-93, “Standard Guide for Collecting Skimmer Performance Data in Controlled Environments,” encountering a 1mm slick thickness of DFM and JP at towed speeds of 0.5-2.5 knots in calm and protected water surface conditions.

RESPONSES & SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION:

Interested parties are free to submit any information which may assist the Navy in its market research.

Interested sources are encouraged to submit a capability summary that does not exceed five (5) pages in length.  Submission in PDF format is desired.  Drawings sized to 8.5”x11” or 11”x17”. All other documentation sized to 8.5”x11”.

The following information is requested (Please use as a checklist):

1. Provide company contact information.
   1. Name
   2. Position/Title
   3. Email Address
   4. Telephone Number
2. General description of the company
   1. Small Business (Y/N)
   2. HUB Zone small business (Y/N)
   3. Service-Disabled Veteran Owned (Y/N)
   4. Economically disadvantaged women-owned small business (EDWOSB) (Y/N)
   5. Women-owned small business (WOSB) concerns eligible (Y/N)
3. Provide location of company production facilities, if applicable.
4. Identify alternative contracting approaches, if any, which would benefit industry.  If none, please state “none”.
5. Provide any technical concerns of the configuration of OSR OP Skimmer boats.  If none, please state “none”.
6. Provide a description of the company’s relevant experience. If applicable, identify the number of delivered vessels, dates delivered, and customer.
7. Provide capability to meet the key requirements based on a tested system.
8. Describe facility production capacity (e.g. estimate on total construction time for each OSR OP Skimmer; and how many boats can be built per year).
9. Provide any alternatives to the Marco filterbelt system that meets the requirements above.  If none, please state “none”.
10. If available, please provide the following information for the candidate vessel:
    1. Vessel principal characteristics and capabilities
    2. Photos, drawings, and/or renderings
    3. Design, construction, regulatory and classification standards employed
11. Provide the approximate price for:
    1. Candidate vessel(s).
    2. Technical Manuals & Other Data.
    3. Potential savings due to quantity discount schemes.

Respondents are responsible for properly marking and clearly identifying proprietary information or trade secrets contained within their response.  The Government will not be liable for, or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly marked and clearly identified.  Information provided shall be treated as Business Sensitive and will not be shared outside of Government activities and agencies without the permission of the provider.  Please do NOT provide classified information or use the marking “CONFIDENTIAL” as this marking is considered classified by the Government which would require special handling of the information.

Defense and commercial contractors, including small businesses, veteran-owned businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, HUBZone small businesses, and woman-owned small businesses are encouraged to monitor FBO for updates and to participate in any future solicitation, if one is issued.

This RFI is the continuation of market research under Part 10 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and is not a RFP.  Questions or comments regarding the intended procurement plan or the draft requirements may be directed to: Maureen Barlow, Contracting Officer – NAVSEA 02 ([email protected]),  or Matt Warncke, Assistant Program Manager – PEO Ships/PMS 325G ([email protected]).

Responses are requested by 2:00 PM (EST) on Monday, Jun 14, 2021.