JA BTA SeaWeb FMC-BTA-24-0011 redacted_Redacted.pdf

Justification and Approval for Other Than Full and Open Competition FAR Part 13 – Simplified Acquisition Procedures

I. AGENCY & CONTRACTING DIVISION

Federal Maritime Commission Office of Management Services 800 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 1034 Washington, DC 20573

II. NATURE AND/OR DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION BEING APPROVED

Seeking approval of sole-source to add 2-5 additional users to existing Purchase Order 65310221P00005.

III. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCTS/SERVICES REQUIRED TO MEET THE

AGENCY’S NEEDS

The service to be acquired is a subscription to S & P Global SeaWeb for 2-5 additional users. Period of performance 9/30/2024 through 9/29/2026

The Bureau of Trade Analysis requires an annual subscription to a commercially available online service that provides detailed information on vessels deployed in the global liner shipping industry. Access is required for 16 users within the Bureau and the Commission. This data shall include information on liner carrier operations, the trade lanes and markets in which they operate, the services they offer, the vessels they operate, and the ports used.

Required data on liner carriers include nationality of ownership, fleet statistics, and identification of maritime agreements in which they participate. Required data on trades lanes include identification or services and Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) capacity. Required data on services include participating carriers, port rotations, sailing frequency, duration of rotation, and the number and identification of owner and operator, vessel type, TEU capacity, and reefer capacity. Further, these data need to be available online in a searchable database. A searchable list of ports with detailed information on each port, its terminals, historical vessel call data and statistics is required.

The estimated increase for the remaining option perids III & IV is $76,414.

IV. AUTHORITY PERMITTING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) – Contracting officers my solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available.

V. A DEMONSTRATION THAT THE PROPOSED CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE

QUALIFICATIONS OR THE NATURE OF THE ACQUISITION REQUIRES USE OF

THE AUTHORITY CITED

No Federal sources were found to contain the breadth of data required by BTA. Partial U.S.

foreign trade data is available from the government (U.S. Census Bureau), however, this data is collected from import/export documentation collected from shipper’s declarations and documents. It does not include the carrier information such as steamship lines, vessel names, and flags for containerized and refrigerated cargo (i.e., container flag and reefer flag)

VI. DESCRIPTION OF EFFORTS MADE TO ENSURE THAT OFFERS ARE SOLICITED

FROM AS MANY POTENTIAL OFFERORS AS DEEMED PRACTICABLE

A Notice of Intent to Sole Source will be posted on Sam.gov pursuant to FAR Subpart 5.201(b)(1).

VII. DETERMINATION BY THE CONTRACTING OFFICER THAT THE ANTICIPATED

COST TO THE AGENCY WILL BE FAIR AND REASONABLE

The Contracting Officer has determined the price will be considered fair and reasonable based on Market Research and historical pricing under the existing Purchase Order.

VIII. DESCRIPTION OF MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED AND THE RESULTS, OR

A STATEMENT OF THE REASONS MARKET RESEARCH WAS NOT

CONDUCTED

Market research was conducted May 2024 by reviewing all of the required and optional Federal sources first, and no Federal sources were found to contain the breadth of data required by BTA. Partial U.S. foreign trade data is available from the government (U.S. Census Bureau), however, this data is collected from import/export documentation collected from shipper’s declarations and documents. It does not include the carrier information such as steamship lines, vessel names, and flags for containerized and refrigerated cargo (i.e., container flag and reefer flag).

IX. ANY OTHER FACTS SUPPORTING THE USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND

OPEN COMPETITION

No additional supporting facts.

X. LIST OF SOURCES, IF ANY, THAT EXPRESSED INTEREST IN THE

PROCUREMENT

No other contractors have expressed interest.

XI. A STATEMENT OF THE ACTIONS, IF ANY, THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO

REMOVE OR OVERCOME ANY BARRIERS TO COMPETITION BEFORE

MAKING SUBSEQUENT PROCUREMENTS FOR THE REQUIRED PRODUCTS

AND SERVICES

There are no anticipated actions by the agency.

XII. TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE CERTIFICATION

I certify that statements checked, and information provided above are complete and correct to the best of my knowledge. I understand that the processing of this Sole- Source Justification precludes the use of full and open competition. The required material represents the minimum requirements of the Government.

Susan Uhlendorf Technical Representative

XIII. CONTRACTING OFFICER’S APPROVAL

The Contracting Officer’s signature on the coordination and approval document evidences that he/she has determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of his/her knowledge and belief.

Michelle Calhoun Contracting Officer

Statement of Work

The Bureau of Trad Analysis requires an annual subscription to a commercially available online service that provides detailed information on vessels deployed in the global liner shipping industry. Access is required for 16 users within the Bureau and the Commission. This data shall include information on liner carrier operations, the trade lanes and markets in which they operate, the services they offer, the vessels they operate, and the ports used.

Required data on liner carriers include nationality of ownership, fleet statistics, and identification of maritime agreements in which they participate. Required data on trades lanes include identification or services and Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) capacity. Required data on services include participating carriers, port rotations, sailing frequency, duration of rotation, and the number and identification of owner and operator, vessel type, TEU capacity, and reefer capacity. Further, these data need to be available online in a searchable database. A searchable list of ports with detailed information on each port, its terminals, historical vessel call data and statistics is required.

In addition, the Bureau requires weekly and monthly publications (available electronically) that provide statistics on the container shipping industry, fleet growth, trends and forecasts, capacity growth, freight rate indices, listing of top carriers and ports, trade demand/utilization, carrier capacity by trade, global trade deployment, idle capacity tracking, and orderbook to fleet ratios. These publications should incorporate the above data and be included in the subscription for all users. In order that BTA’s historical time series remains comparable over time, the publication shall provide a consistent database each month. Additionally, BTA requires that the publication be an electronic publication and be available online.

The subscriptions shall be for one year, beginning September 2024.