2.05b - Attachment 1_Updated Sole Source Justification_Redacted.pdf

Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

Document Number:

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

1. Identification of Agency and Contracting Activity

The requiring activity is the Naval Atlantic Meteorology and Oceanography Center Norfolk’s (NAVLANTMETOCCEN’s) Naval Ice Center, part of the U.S. National Ice Center (USNIC), Suitland Federal Complex, Suitland, MD; the contracting activity is the Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Norfolk, Contracting Department.

2. Description of the Action Being Approved

This is a sole source action for the provision of Air-deployable Meteorological Buoys that were previously acquired under Contract N0018923PZ192, which was awarded 21 September 2023 on a sole source basis as a firm fixed-price contract to LBI, Inc. (CAGE: 058Z9), a small business. This is a new requirement.

3. Description of Supplies/Services

This requirement is for twenty-eight (28) Airborne Expendable Ice Beacon II (AXIB-II [Second Generation]) Air-deployable Arctic Weather Buoys. Non-optional specifications are as follows:

VRI Vinylester Fiberglass hull and steel ballast rod 2-meter thermistor mast with air temperature (AT) sensor WOCE-type barometric sensor hood Sea water/ice thermistor in bottom of buoy hull Steel ballast rod LBI electronics and sensor package (Iridium telemetry) 2 Tadiran Lithium Thionyl Chloride battery packs (32 D-cells, 15-V, per pack) with minimum

24-month lifespan at -40°C Air deployment package with parachute, fiberglass tripod 2-meter thermistor Mast and parachute release hardware

The estimated value is which includes shipping & handling. Price breakdown is as follows:

Item Number Item Description Quantity Estimated Unit Price

Estimated Extended Price

AXIB-II

Airborne Expendable

Ice Beacon

FREIGHT Shipping & Handling 28 Total:

Required Delivery Date: on or before 28 December 2024.

The resultant contract will be funded with FY24 Navy Operations & Maintenance (O&MN) appropriations. These funds are currently available.

NOTE: The required delivery date (RDD) associated with the resultant delivery order is on or before 28 December 2024 based on the awardee’s required lead-time and ongoing supply chain issues within the industry. In the event the items can be delivered before this date, the customer is prepared to utilize them immediately. As such, this acquisition is a bona fide need of fiscal year 2024.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Sole Source

The statutory authority permitting this sole source action is 41 U.S.C. 1901, Simplified acquisition procedures - a sole source acquisition using simplified acquisition procedures for the acquisition of commercial items, as implemented by FAR 13.501(a).

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority.

LBI, Inc. has produced weather and oceanographic buoys for use in the Arctic Basin for many years, garnering experience in the production of high-quality products capable of withstanding adverse conditions in high-latitude, polar oceans. From 2008-2009, LBI, Inc. specifically developed the AXIB II buoys for the US Interagency Arctic Buoy Program (USIABP) to be capable of ship or air deployments and to survive in the seasonal ice zone. Previous buoy designs, including those from other suppliers, had high attrition rates and were not capable of surviving multiple freeze/thaw cycles. AXIB II buoys, thus, are the only buoys robust enough to survive multiple seasons in the harsh Arctic environment.

Considering the limited opportunities to deploy buoys in the Arctic, robust and survivable buoys are necessary to meet the objectives of maritime Arctic domain awareness. Use of any other buoy would result in undue cost to the Government, as the buoys would require more frequent replacement.

LBI, Inc. holds the patent on AXIB II buoys. All AXIB II buoy specifications meet the requirements of the USIABP to support the Naval Ice Center’s mission in the sparse sensing environment of the polar regions. Buoys deployed in the Arctic must be capable of surviving the harsh physical environment and also need to measure air temperatures of -40C. LBI, Inc. has established practices manufacturing buoys to survive such low temperatures. LBI, Inc.’s Air deployable AXIB II Buoys are also certified to be deployed via U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard C-130’s, which allows full flexibility to deploy buoys in Arctic regions that have data gaps (no reporting buoys) in locations unreachable via ship.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many Offerors as Practicable, including a Description of Market Research, if applicable, and a List of Interested Sources, if any.

In accordance with DFARS 206.303-2, a Sources Sought Notice was posted to sam.gov on 09 August 2024, which closed on 16 August 2024 with one (1) response received. The respondent’s information is as follows:

Sofar Ocean Technologies, Inc.

Pier 28 Annex, San Francisco, CA 94105

CAGE: 7JGR4

Socio-Economic Type: Small Business

Upon receipt of the response, a Capability Statement Review was sent to the requiring activity on 16 August 2024 along with the materials submitted by the above vendor. The Capability Statement Review requested the requiring activity to review the materials submitted by the above vendor to determine, on a Capable/Not Capable rating basis, if the specifications of the item detailed in the above vendor’s submitted materials could meet the minimum requirements of the requiring activity’s Statement of Work. On 22 August 2024, the contracting activity received the requiring activity’s completed Capability Statement Review, rating the above vendor as Not Capable of fulfilling the minimum requirements of the requiring activity’s Statement of Work.

In summary, the capability statement did not sufficiently address the loss of data due to freeze over and impact to solar panels due to low sun angle. The Sofar buoys proposed would only reliably provide data during the summer, but would fail once the Arctic freezes over and the Sofar buoy batteries run out of power.

In addition to the Sources Sought Notice, market research was conducted by the contracting activity resulting in one (1) other potential source with semi-comparable capabilities:

MetOcean Telematics, Inc.

11 Thornhill Drive, Dartmouth, NS B3B 1R9, Canada

CAGE: 638V2

Socio-Economic Type: Small Business

Based on specifications available to the general public, MetOcean Telematics, Inc. is unable to meet the required 24-month lifespan of the Tadiran Lithium Thionyl Chloride batteries, which would introduce unacceptable reliability and functionality challenges, affecting risk to the mission and cost to the Government.

As such, in accordance with FAR 6.301-2, LBI, Inc. remains the only source capable of satisfying the requiring agencies minimum requirements.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost

The Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government of the supplies covered by this Justification will be fair and reasonable.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition

The contracting activity reviewed the previous Sole Source Justification from FY23. No actions to assess the emergence of new potential sources was required. However, as discussed in Paragraph 6, the contracting activity issued a Sources Sought Notice for the current requirement and no potential sources were found that satisfy the minimum needs of the requirement. For the reasons set forth in Paragraph 5, NAVSUP FLC Norfolk has no plans at this time to compete future contracts for the types of supplies covered by this document. If another potential source emerges, NAVSUP FLC Norfolk will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible.

9. Contracting Point of Contact

The point of contact at NAVSUP FLC Norfolk Contracting Department is David Vaughn, Code 213.2, who may be contacted at (564) 226-3059 or by e-mail at david.e.vaughn6.civ@us.navy.mil.

Document Number:

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.