26R6022 JA Signed_Redacted.pdf

J&A No. N103-26-R-6022

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL (J&A) FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL

AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity.

Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command (MSC), Ship Charter Contracts Division (N103).

2. Description of the Action Being Approved.

The purpose of this J&A is to obtain approval to award a firm fixed price contract on a sole-source basis to the incumbent contractor, Hornbeck Offshore Services, LLC (HOS) for the time charter of the U.S. flag vessel, . The period of performance for this contract action will be a 90-day base period from and three one-month option periods for a total period of performance of 181 days. This time charter is necessary to

. This is a FAR Part 13.5 procurement and, therefore, it is exempt from FAR Part 6 but still requires a written justification (Unusual and Compelling Urgency) and approval per FAR Part 13.501(a)(2)(ii).

3. Description of the Supplies/Services.

The contract provides for one (1) US flag, Jones Act qualified vessel which shall function as surface support vessel primarily for the . The Vessel shall be employed as a submarine rescue surface support ship. The vessel’s primary mission shall be to support United States Navy (USN) submarine rescue utilizing Assessment Underwater Work System (AUWS) and the SRDRS, including training for this mission. and other missions as required by the USN and permitted by the vessels’ certifications and classifications. The vessel shall normally operate in the in the vicinity of

; however, the vessel may .

The current 59-month time-charter contract (N3220521C4115) for this requirement was awarded on 17 November 2020 and was solicitated as a full and open procurement.

The requirement is for a purpose-modified Offshore Supply Vessel (OSV) capable of supporting SRDRS integration, operations, and certification testing. Required vessel capabilities include:

• Launch, recovery, and handling interfaces for SRDRS modules;

• Integrated power, communications, and data infrastructure;

• Deck foundations and clearances for pressure chambers, decompression equipment, and transfer-under-pressure systems; and

• Shipboard safety, ventilation, and gas management systems suitable for diving and recompression operations.

This award will allow the to continue SRDRS certification testing for the U.S Navy at the conclusion of contract N3220521C4115 and to commence services under a new time charter.

The total estimated value of this time charter is , which includes a 90 day base period for the period of performance of in the amount of ( daily rate x 90 days)(CLIN 0001), a 30 day option period for the period of performance of in the amount of ( daily rate x 30 days)(CLIN 1001), a 31 day option period for the period of performance of 01 May 2026 – 31 May 2026 in the amount of

( daily rate x 31 days)(CLIN 2001), and a 30 day option period for the period of performance of in the amount of ( daily rate x 30 days)(CLIN 3001). Reimbursables in the amount of will be added to the upcoming contract.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition.

This procurement is conducted under the authority of 41 U.S.C. § 1901, as implemented by FAR 13.501.

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority

The SRDRS is the USN’s only organic deep-submergence submarine rescue capability. Its mission is to rapidly deploy to a distressed submarine (DISSUB), locate and mate with the disabled hull, rescue survivors, and transfer them under pressure for decompression and medical treatment. SRDRS is fundamental to the Navy’s submarine safety posture, crew survivability, and alliance commitments.

The SRDRS is currently uncertified and cannot be operationally deployed until all testing and certification activities are complete. Once certified, the SRDRS will be deployable aboard any U.S. Vessel of Opportunity (VOO) that meets certain size and structural criteria. Until certification occurs, the Navy has no organic submarine rescue capability and must rely solely on international partners — an operationally unacceptable gap in submarine safety.

During the ongoing SRDRS certification process, the main submersible experienced a serious casualty of no fault to the contractor. The casualty halted certification activities, required extensive repair, and extended the schedule significantly. But for this unforeseen Navy-caused incident, certification would have been completed within the original period of performance of the competitively awarded contract. The current sole-source extension is necessary only because of that delay.

Failure to complete certification promptly would:

• Prolong the absence of a U.S. submarine rescue capability;

• Place submarine crews at significant operational risk;

• Jeopardize U.S. treaty and alliance commitments; and

• Impose cascading programmatic delays and increased costs.

The vessel is the only platform capable of immediately resuming SRDRS testing due to extensive mission-specific modifications, validated interfaces, and prior integration work. The system certification effort will begin in and is supposed to be completed in with training and operator qualification slated for . Outfitting an alternate vessel would require 12–18 months, rendering immediate certification impossible. Additionally, the lack of timely or expeditious certification would cause serious injury to the Government by further exacerbating a gap in services that are required for safety and by potentially violating a requirement in a commitment to an alliance.

MSC has determined the best course of action is to issue a follow-on time charter contract.

This J&A permits award of a firm-fixed price contract for services provided under FAR 13.501 for time charter service contract.

The Government requires the services described above, and an unusual and compelling urgency of this sole source J&A arose as it was determined that the is the only platform capable of immediately performing the SRDRS certification testing. If this sole-source award is not conducted, then the length of time it would take to complete this requirement and potentially re-modify another vessel to be able to perform the testing, would create an unacceptable gap in services (failure to complete SRDRS certification). Therefore, not conducting this unusual and compelling urgent sole-source acquisition would delay the mission and result in serious injury, financial or other, to the Government.

The immediate and critical requirement to provide a vessel to continue SRDRS certification testing for the Navy is necessary to meet the mission. Additionally, the Contracting Officer knew of no other U.S. flag vessels in the vicinity, which could have provided the needed service in the time required, as the availability of commercial vessels capable of performing the mission are limited. Awarding the sole source follow-on time charter contract is the most expeditious and cost-effective acquisition strategy available to prevent mission failure.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many Offerors as Practicable.

Due to the extensive mission-specific modifications, validated interfaces, and prior integration work on

, no other vessel would be capable to meet the required commencing/cancelling layday of . A sources sought is not required for this contract as this sole source contract will be written and justified per FAR 6.302-2 – Unusual and Compelling Urgency and FAR 13.501 Special Document Requirements.

Notwithstanding, the Contracting Officer knew of no other U.S. flag vessels in the vicinity which could have provided the needed service. The continued use of is in keeping in the spirit of Cargo Preference Laws.

This requested contract award is exempt from the synopsis requirement by FAR 5.202(a)(2) ("for purchases conducted using simplified acquisition procedures, if unusual and compelling urgency precludes competition to the maximum extent practicable") because the Government would be seriously injured if the agency complies with the time periods in FAR Part 5.203.

Market research conducted prior to the original award determined that no other commercially available vessel could support SRDRS operations without significant modification. Given the unforeseen delay caused by the Navy and the urgent schedule requirements, re-competing this requirement is not practicable.

A new solicitation would introduce delays of 12–18 months, during which the Navy would remain without a submarine rescue capability. Any attempt to compete the requirement at this time would introduce unacceptable delays and mission risk.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost.

The Contracting Officer signed below has determined the anticipated cost to the Government of the services covered by this J&A will be fair and reasonable in accordance with FAR 13.106-3(a) (2) (ii)-comparison to prices found reasonable on previous purchases and FAR 13.106-3(a) (2) (vii)- any other reasonable basis.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition.

The Government has competed actions of this type in the past and received proposals from multiple vendors capable of satisfying the requirement. Due to the urgent nature of this requirement, time does not permit full-and-open competition. To the maximum extent practicable, MSC intends to continue to solicit and competitively award future charter requirements for cargo vessels supporting missions worldwide on a full-and-open basis, in the appropriate PALT time required to complete the actions.

CERTIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL

TECHNICAL/REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION

I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance which are included in this Justification and its supporting acquisition planning documents, except as noted herein are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief. I certify that the supporting data that forms the basis for this justification is complete and accurate.

TECHNICAL/REQUIREMENTS COGNIZANCE.

Signature Name (Printed) Phone No. Date

LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW

I have determined this justification is legally sufficient

Signature Name (Printed) Phone No. Date

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION

I certify that this Justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Christoher Tomlin 757-443-5879 _________ Signature Name (Printed) Phone No. Date

DEPUTY DIRECTOR, N10X CONTRACTS AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, MILITARY SEALIFT

COMMAND

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, hereby approve, as Competition Advocate, Military Sealift Command, the contract action described herein using other than full and open completion, pursuant to the authority of 41 U.S.C. 1901(a)(2):

Signature Name (Printed) Phone No. Date