15. Vessel - Q and A.pdf

(Attachment # 15)

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

NATIONAL VESSEL CONTRACT

SOLICITATION NO.: 15M50023RA4400003

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q: GENERAL – REMITTANCE TIMING: Indicate whether advance payments for contract costs are available from USMS, or if contract awardee is required to advance all costs for future reimbursement by USMS.

A: Advance payment will be considered on a rare case-by-case basis as needed, but in general all costs will be expected to be paid by the vendor for later reimbursement.

Q: GENERAL – COMMERCIAL SHIPS: Indicate what types of commercial vessels are included in contract.

A: Any type or class of vessel may be included in this contract.

Q: GENERAL – EXCEPTIONAL VESSELS: Indicate factors utilized to designate whether a particular new intake will be categorized as an exceptional vessel.

A: “Exceptional” is not a term for any size, category, or class of vessel within the contract, Statement of Work, Pricing Schedule, nor any other attachment. This adjective was used exclusively in the memo for summary of scope amendments.

Q: Indicate exceptional vessel Hull & Machinery insurance policy minimum requirement, in general terms.

A: “Exceptional” is not a term in any requirement of the contract. Insurance minimum shall be for the full appraised value of all assets in custody and per industry standard practices.

Q: Indicate exceptional vessel Protection & Indemnity policy minimum requirement, in general terms.

A: “Exceptional” is not a term in any requirement of the contract. It would be the responsibility of the awardee as the industry expert to recommend appropriate levels of liability coverage and provide such suggestions for the approval of the USMS.

Q: Indicate exceptional vessel ongoing maintenance standard, in general terms.

A: “Exceptional” is not a term in any requirement of the contract. The specific needs of an asset cannot be pre-determined. Each asset will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the awardee as it enters custody, and a customized maintenance plan provided to the USMS for approval.

Q: Confirm all costs pertaining to exceptional vessels (present and future) will exclusively utilize the CLINs denoted with yellow highlights on the pricing schedules (perhaps with exception of CLIN 0013, as discussed below).

A: “Exceptional” is not a term in any requirement of the contract. Any vessel may potentially require any service covered by any CLIN.

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Q: CLIN 0013 – SEIZURE PLANNING AND RESEARCH: Indicate if CLIN is utilized exclusively for planning activities, or is CLIN also available for post-seizure management and planning for complicated maintenance items such as drydocking. Indicate if CLIN is available for both exceptional and non-exceptional vessels.

A: “Exceptional” is not a term in any requirement of the contract. “0013 - Seizure Planning…” CLIN is available for any type of vessel. It may be utilized for any services that fit the CLIN description, regardless of timing in the asset lifecycle; provided it is pre-approved via

STO.

Q: Provide detailed explanation and/or example describing the nature of costs associated with these CLINs: 0014 – Property Transport, 0015 – Demurrage, 0031 – At Anchor, 0057 – Expert Consultation.

A: 0014 – Costs associated with the transportation of Personal Property. Personal Property is defined in the Statement of Work.

0015 – Demurrage is defined in the Statement of Work.

0031 – Fees associated with costs of storing a vessel that is not in dry-dock nor moored at a dock/pier. Such as a vessel kept indefinitely afloat in a designated portion of a public harbor.

0057 – This service is defined in the Statement of Work, section 9, part 8.

Q: CLIN 0056 – VESSEL INSURANCE: Indicate if CLIN is utilized to cover insurance for all vessels or exceptional vessels only.

A: “Exceptional” is not a term in any requirement of the contract. Vendor is responsible for all assets in their care from custody through disposal, including providing adequate insurance coverage. Adequate insurance coverage for all assets is a requirement of the contract. On rare occasions, high value assets may enter the inventory that require additional insurance coverage for classification or flagging purposes. The insurance CLIN shall be used for this additional coverage and only by explicit pre-approval via STO.

Q: CLIN 0061 – CREW: Confirm utilization of this CLIN is limited to exceptional vessels and includes:

• Crew travel time to/from vessels, at inception and termination of employment

• Crew hours worked during relocation to/from drydock and during drydock period

• Crew time resulting from required bridge, deck and engineering watches

Provide calculation/formula for 50,000 hours

A: “Exceptional” is not a term in any requirement of the contract. This CLIN may be used for any type of vessel that has need of an active crew.

Crew travel time falls under “0016 – Travel” All other indicated situations would fall under the “Crew” CLIN.

50,000 is an approximate estimate of man-hour crew requirements for one year for assets currently on hand and expected to need an active crew.

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Q: CLIN 0062 – CREW PROVISIONS*: Indicate intended meaning of asterisk (following description). Confirm drinking water is included in this CLIN. Confirm chef wages not absorbed herein.

A: Pricing Schedule is updated to include footnote denoted by asterisk. Yes, drinking water is included if potable water is not otherwise available. No, chef wages would fall under the “Crew”

CLIN.

Q: CREW CHARGES OTHER CLINs: Indicate CLINs to be utilized for the following likely crew-related activities for exceptional vessels:

• Payroll tax

• Air travel costs

• Placement agency fees

• Medical expense

• Mandated training

• Uniforms

• Payroll service

A: Uniforms would fall under CLIN “0066 – Misc Supplies/Equipment”. Air Travel Costs fall under “0016 – Travel”. All others indicated would fall under “0061 – Crew”

Q: VESSEL CHARGES OTHER CLINs: Indicate CLINs to be utilized for the following likely exceptional vessel activities:

• Routine vessel movement, such as standby tugs

• Dockage

• Port agent

• Software

• Equipment repair & recertification

• Water for vessel washes

A: -Any of 0006, 0007, 0008, and 0010 may apply whenever a tug is used.

-Dockage could fall under any of multiple CLINs in the “Storage” category depending on the size of the vessel and other factors.

-Port Agent costs would fall under various CLINs depending on what service the agent was providing.

-Software falls under “0065 – IT SUPPORT/COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT” -Maintenance of equipment that is part of an asset in custody falls under “0043 –

Mechanical Repairs”. Repair of vendor-owned equipment will not be a reimbursable expense.

-Water costs are considered part of the cost of the wash itself. Washes in turn are part of multiple CLINs, including all versions of initial intake and storage CLINs.

Q: In the updated Pricing Scheduled there is a new section ‘Other Storage’ and a new CLIN 1030 ‘At Anchor’. The possibility of having an ‘exceptional vessel’ at anchor would be a very complicated and involved situation. How does the contractor bill for all the daily requests for supplies, services, documents, insurance, medical, water taxis, agent, Coast Guard, pilots, potential

NATIONAL VESSEL CONTRACT

vessel movements throughout an anchorage as required by pilots, and many other requirements that come about daily with a large vessel at anchor?

A: “Exceptional” is not a term in any requirement of the contract. All expenses shall be invoiced monthly unless otherwise directed by the COR. All expenses are to be covered within the appropriate CLIN unit prices; estimated expenses to be covered within “TBD/NTE” CLINs will be approved as needed/reasonable via COR STO.

Q: In the SOW, program requires 3 quotes for expenses over $2,500 (Sections 2.p., 4.2., 12.i., etc.)… under what CLIN would contractor bill for their time in acquiring said vendor quotes?

A: Time spent in obtaining quotes is not a direct reimbursable expense (to be covered within proposed unit prices).

Q: Payroll: Collecting timesheets, preparing/auditing payroll, and wiring funds for a large crew (often internationally) requires substantial time on a weekly/monthly basis. These are costs incurred during the ‘Relocation’, ‘Maintenance’ and ‘Storage’ categories. Under what CLIN would contractor bill for their time preparing crew payroll?

A: All payroll related indirect crew expenses are to be covered within the proposed unit prices for the most appropriate CLIN per expense in question. Direct expenses are to be covered within the appropriate CLIN.

Q: Although there are new CLINs under ‘Relocation’, ‘Storage’ and ‘Maintenance’ for the described ‘exceptional vessels’, it does not appear that the ‘Disposal’ category has been updated for said vessels. Is it not anticipated that any ‘exceptional vessels’ will be either sold or otherwise disposed of by contractor? Sale of an ‘exceptional vessel’ would require substantial time and effort to market to prospective buyers worldwide. This is in reference to CLIN 1088: Administrative Negotiated Sales Fee Over $5,000,001 which currently has a Total Commission of $100,000.

A: “Exceptional” is not a term in any requirement of the contract. At any time in the life of the contract any type, size, or class of vessel may be directed to disposal via either sale or destruction via STO. Process for any non-standard sales procedures, to include special global advertising and any other additional efforts related to a disposal, are covered in section 12, part 3 of the Statement of Work. In such a scenario, Sales Plan would include any costs/fees to be collected by the contractor. All dollar amounts provided are preliminary estimates only, based on best information, but not to be considered final figures.