Redacted_JA-13SEA-40938_Sole_Source_Hull_Cleaning_ 13-014475b .pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL SEA SYSTEMS COMMAND

13331saac Hull Ave Washington Navy Yard, D C 20376-2001

CJ&A Number: 40,938

CODE: SEA 02411

IN REPLY TO:

P.R. No: N00024-13-NR-00143

CLASS JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

JUSTIFICATION

1. Contracting Activity

The Naval Sea System Command, Fleet Support Contracts Division, SEA 024.

2. Description of the Action Being Approved.

The Naval Sea Systems Command intends to award an Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract to Seaward Marine Services, Inc., 5409 Beamon Road, Norfolk, Virginia 23513 for worldwide, waterborne, underwater hull cleaning, inspection, repair and associated ship husbandry on US Navy and Coast Guard vessels in support ofthe Director of Ocean Engineering, Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSAL V). The contract action will encompass a base year and four option years with an estimated value of . Authority to act under the CJ&A expires on 10 August 2019.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The contemplated contract action will provide for waterborne hull cleaning, inspection and repairs on the underwater portion of all U.S. Navy ships and craft operating worldwide, as well as U.S. Coast Guard ships and craft operating in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility.

The work will be completed via the issuance of Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) orders. Locations include, but are not limited to, Norfolk, VA; Mayport, FL; Groton, CT; San Diego, CA; Everett and Bremerton, W A; Pearl Harbor, HI; Y okosuka and Sasebo, Japan; Guam; Singapore; Diego Garcia; and various locations throughout the Arabian Gulf and Mediterranean. The contractor must be capable of simultaneously performing these operations on a minimum of 13 different ships world-wide. These services significantly reduce propulsive fuel consumption, extend operating ranges, and extend intervals between dry docking. They also increase system life and improve anti-submarine warfare capabilities. The total value for this contract action is estimated to be as much as .

The Government's minimum needs have been verified by the certifying technical and requirements personnel.

CJ&A Number: 40,938

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

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(l). Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority.

In accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2304 (c)(l), an agency may use procedures other than competitive procedures when services needed by the agency are available from only one responsible source and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy the needs of the agency. Seaward Marine Services, Inc.

(Seaward) is the only qualified source that has demonstrated the technical capabilities to safely and adequately perform waterborne hull cleaning, inspection, repair and associated ship husbandry on the underwater portion on U.S. Navy war fighting ships and submarines world-wide without delays to ship operations, catastrophic damage to complex ship systems, or degradation in quality of services. Hull fouling has a serious detrimental impact on ship speed, fuel consumption and noise. These contracted services are essential to maintain Fleet operational readiness and provide capabilities that do not otherwise exist in the Navy.

Failure to provide quality services will result in the Navy's inability to maintain Fleet readiness, operational schedules, or mission requirements. Examples include excessive fuel penalties from fouled ships not being cleaned at the optimum time, degradation to propulsors, decreased coating life cycles, shortened intervals between dry docking, damaged hull coating, and increased pollution to the environment. The Navy cannot sacrifice operational schedules of ships and submarines or diminished war fighting capabilities, nor can the Navy subject the war fighting assets to the significant risk of catastrophic damage.

Unlike commercial vessels, U.S. Navy ships have sophisticated combat systems such as anti-submarine warfare systems, sonar domes, high performance propellers and coating systems with an expected service life (between dry-dockings) of 10-12 years. These complex systems require an experienced company with divers highly skilled in the techniques and use of an array of large cleaning units to safely clean the

Page I 2 various military systems found under the ships and to conduct comprehensive technical inspections ori these systems. The underwater environment and the large and powerful cleaning equipment used by divers to perform the work needed can easily destroy complex and expensive US Navy ship systems.

Therefore, it is paramount to have personnel with a high level of experience in performing hull cleaning on military vessels.

U.S. Coast Guard vessels do not have the same design and system requirements as U.S. Navy vessels.

However, the majority of the cleanings performed on U.S. Coast Guard vessels are conducted in the CENTCOM area of responsibility (AOR). By virtue of the volume of work under the planned contract with the U.S. Navy, the contractor is able to retain a stable group of personnel who operate under close supervision in the CENTCOM A OR. Similar to the security issues with Navy ships discussed below, only U.S. citizens may have access and visibility to the U.S. Coast Guard operating schedule to effectively plan and schedule cleaning operations. Therefore, the U.S. Coast Guard is able to dramatically reduce force protection concerns by utilizing this contractor and its trusted subcontractor, within the CENTCOM AOR to perform these types of underwater services on its ships in those overseas ports.

In the United States, the US Navy is the only customer for this type of complex hull cleaning work.

Commercial vessels do not need this type of hull cleaning, both because of their design (they do not rely on complex combat and sensor systems) and use (they are constantly moving, which reduces fouling on the hull). Therefore, there is little to no market outside the military for companies to acquire the experience or capabilities to perform this type of work.

Only Seaward has the highly specialized personnel and equipment that fulfill the critical needs of timely and quality service. Seaward's unique experience, gained over the past 30 years, makes it the only source capable of performing these world-wide services. Seaward has demonstrated the means to manage hull cleaning and associated operations on a Fleet of almost 300 ships worldwide and has comprehensive inspection data and experience in data analysis to predict and schedule future hull cleaning operations based on historic cleaning actions, hull coating performance, and bio fouling rates. This type of highly specialized work requires experienced divers that are familiar with U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships. The learning curve to safely clean a military ship's hull coating or submarine propeller is steep and has harsh consequences if the work is performed improperly.

Over the past three decades, there have been virtually no viable alternative providers of the services the Navy requires. Seaward has been the only viable resource for world-wide hull cleaning for 30 years. In order to foster competition, the Navy's previous solicitation in 2007 (N00024-07-R-4200) divided the Navy's hull cleaning needs into three separate contracts, one contract for each of three distinct geographic zones. Only two companies responded: Seaward and . Seaward was awarded Zone B (Pacific and Indian Ocean). was awarded Zone A (Atlantic) and Zone C (Mediterranean and Middle East). By the end of the contract base year, had continually failed to perform satisfactorily and the Navy elected not to exercise the remaining option years for Zone A. A sole source contract was awarded to Seaward to ensure the Fleet would receive the vital services. Repeated instances of ship damage, schedule delay, and diver injury created a situation in which operational schedules were impaired.

The inability of this large, sophisticated contractor to adequately perform clearly underscores the inability of another company to meet the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard requirements. Seaward has the demonstrated experience, equipment, and capabilities to immediately perform this work world-wide without disruption of Fleet schedules.

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While there are some foreign companies that perform similar hull cleaning work for foreign navies, the contract requires access to restricted (CLASSFIED and NOFORN) information to safely and effectively work on Navy nuclear powered ships and submarines world-wide. Contractors must have access and visibility to the entire Fleet operating schedule to effectively plan and schedule cleaning operations so as not to interfere with ship deployment schedules. Only U.S. citizens may hold the clearances required for access to this information.

Therefore, no other responsible source is capable of fulfilling the global requirements to support U.S.

war-fighting vessels with the waterborne hull cleaning, inspection and repair requirements described in this CJ&A. Seaward is the only source capable of providing these specialized services.

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

The proposed contract action was synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website on May I, 20 13 and no other sources expressed interest. In addition to the reasons discussed in paragraph 5 above, the program office has conducted its own market analysis and determined there are no other companies with practical capabilities to provide these world-wide services on U.S. war-fighting ships and submarines other than Seaward Marine Service. If any responses to the synopsis are received they will be considered.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Costs

In accordance with FAR 15 .402( a), the Contracting Officer must ensure all supplies and services are procured at a fair and reasonable price. The contractor will submit cost and pricing data in accordance with FAR 15.403-4. Analysis ofthe proposals will be performed by technical analysts and the contract specialist, with the assistance of Defense Contract Audit Agency auditors. The Contracting Officer will use cost and price analysis and consideration of the above data and analyses to determine that the final price is fair and reasonable.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Competition

For the reasons set forth in Paragraph 5, the Naval Sea Systems Command currently has no plans to compete future contracts for the type of services covered by this document. If another potential source emerges, the Navy will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible.

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CERTIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL

TECHNICAUREQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION (FAR 6.303-2(b))

CJ&A Number: 40,938

I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance. which are included in this justification and its supporting acquisition planning data, including A~quisition Plan number 13-009, except as noted herein, are accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Phone No.

REQUIREMENTS COGNIZANCE:

Signature Phone No.

LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW (NMCARS 5206.303-90)

I

Phone No.

Date

Date ati n is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and bflief.

Signature. Phone No. ·Date

APPROVAL BLOCK (FAR 6.304 for Approving Official)

Upon the basis of the abovejustification, I hereby approve, as Senior Procurement Executive of the Navy, the solicitation of the proposed procurement(s) described herein using other than full and open competition, pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(l).

Senior Procurement Executive of the Navy

Signature Name (Print) Date

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