2023 Worldwide Chemical Contract JA_REDACTED.pdf

J&A (Ver1) dtd 29 Sep 21

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority: Fighting fires at sea requires fire fighting foam and a delivery system. Foam is required to fight shipboard fires because ignitable items onboard often burn in a water-resistant manner. Foam system type approval is issued for a vessel after the USCG reviews the complete bill of materials, component technical data sheets, and arrangement plans. Foam concentrate type and brand is approved as part of the foam system. Foam system type approval is addressed in the USCG Marine Safety Center Guidelines for Foam Fire Suppression Systems Procedure Number: E1-11 Revision Date: 02/16/2017.

Converting an installed and approved foam system to a different type of foam concentrate involves significant cost and schedule resources. First, changing a component of an approved foam system type, such as the foam, removes the system from compliance. Second, a detailed technical analysis must occur to determine whether the prospective foam concentrate is appropriate for the fuel type and that the application rate from the system is adequate. Third, recalculation of the discharge nozzles and tank size must occur, and the proportioner may need to change. Changing the foam in an approved system will result in components of that system being replaced and parts of the system being re-designed. The technical analysis then would need approval from the appropriate classification society and regulatory body, in this case the United States Coast Guard, in order for the foam system to gain re-approval. The associated replacement and idle-ship costs with gaining re-approval of currently-approved systems that use different foams and require re-approval eclipse any savings recuperated through competition.

Moreover, the associated schedule resources to support a conversion will render each vessel undergoing a foam change unable to support mission for months. The unavailability results from a ship’s regulatory and safety inability to operate because its fire suppression system is not functional. That delay in mission-readiness potentially fleetwide would cause catastrophic mission failure.

Link to the United States Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Center Guidelines for Foam Fire Suppression Systems Procedure Number: E1-11 Revision Date: 02/16/2017 https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/MSC/PRG/PRG.E1- 11.2017.02.16.Foam_Fire_Suppression_Systems.pdf?ver=2017-10-25-132345-810

The foam concentrates listed in this document under Section 3) above are integral parts of currently-type approved foam systems by the United States Coast Guard, systems that are currently used aboard MSC vessels. The above statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition applies to those foam concentrates due to the fact the listed names and types are the only source able to fulfill the requirement for the reasons above. The foam concentrate supplies covered by this Justification and Approval (J&A) will allow for the provision of vital material through a defined contract.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many Potential Sources as Practicable:

Sources Sought Notice N3220522R4116 was released on 23 June 2022 on SAM.gov. The Sources Sought Notice included the PWS which lists the six-approved foams in section 3 above and reflects that the foams provided under the contract must be the approved foams used in MSC vessels’ systems. The 23 June Notice yielded one response, and the subsequent technical review concluded that the respondent’s submission did not demonstrate, as submitted, the required capabilities to perform the PWS requirements based upon experience detailed through the submitted capability statement. Consequently, a second Sources Sought Notice was issued on 12 August 2022 under the same SSN number. That Notice contained the same PWS as the first. A technical evalution of the responses to the second Notice indicated one small business and one large business were capable of performing this requirement. Currently, the small business that was found capable is performing these commercial chemical services in support of MSC under contract N3220518D7000. The current vendor has performed these commercial chemical services in support of MSC for the past thirteen (13) years. Additionally, each respondent to the second Notice implicitly acknowledged the foam-concentrate requirement in its response. Additionally, the foam system type approval is an industry-wide regulatory requirement and is well known throughout the marine fire suppression industry. Therefore, the market research did not uncover any novel solutions to the requirements of using specific foams in pre-approved systems. Moreover, MSC’s ongoing internal, J&A (Ver1) dtd 29 Sep 21 ongoing market research revealed that using a foam other than the foam included in part of a foam type approved system will result in a likely need to replace system components and in a substantial ready-for-tasking delay due to a need to seek re-approval of the entire system. Both of those facets are more fully described in Section 5 above.

Solicitation N3220523R4150 will be made available through the Government Point of Entry, SAM.gov.

The products listed in this justification are the only products currently approved for the systems onboard MSC vessels; however, they may be available through a number of sources such as resellers or distributors. Vendors may subscribe to the interested parties list on SAM.gov to express interest in partnering for the requirements.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost: Prior to contract award, a fair-and-reasonable determination will be made using the techniques described in FAR 15.404-1. The Contracting Officer will ensure that the anticipated contract will be awarded with pricing which is commensurate with earlier pricing, adjusted for the current market conditions and applicable inflation.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition: For reasons set forth in section 5 of this document, MSC has no action plans at this time to remove or overcome the brand name requirement as it currently exists for foam concentrates.