QA__3_SBX_RFP_16R3101_FBO.pdf

MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND

N32205-16-R-3101 SBX-1 Operation & Maintenance

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS # 3

The following are answers to questions received from potential offerors. The answers provide clarification only and DO NOT constitute an amendment to the solicitation.

1. The Operating Area of SBX is listed as Pacific Ocean. Will overlapping wages be reimbursable when crew exchanges are required at sea? If the answer in no, how many days per year should bidders plan for overlapping wages?

Answer: SBX-1 does not currently have a supply vessel assigned to it to facilitate crew changes at sea. In the event a supply vessel is assigned, the contract will be modified to include reimbursable overlapping wages for crew changes at sea. In the event a supply vessel with crew change capability is chartered on an interim basis overlapping crew change wages will be handled as a reimbursable item requiring prior COR or authorized Approving Official approval. This answer will be incorporated into a forthcoming solicitation amendment.

2. Periodically crew members are required to do dirty maintenance jobs for which they are entitled to a Penalty Time O.T. rate;

a. Will Penalty O.T. hours be reimbursable?

b. Where should bidders list these Penalty O.T. rates on pricing sheets?; and;

c. If not reimbursable then how many hours per year should bidders price for unlicensed hours and for officer hours?

NOTE: B-1 states Penalty Time must be part of fully loaded rate; how do bidders price that when quantity of hours are unknown?

Answer: There is only one category of overtime. Any reference to “Penalty Time” or “Penalty Overtime” in the solicitation will be removed via a forthcoming solicitation amendment. See Section 1.7.11.3 for overtime reimbursement.

3. Section L-8(B). Technical Proposal has a grammatical error and appears unusually short in content.

Please confirm correctness of this section.

Answer: The Technical Proposal requirement in section L is being revised in its entirety in a forthcoming solicitation amendment. Any grammatical errors will be correct in the amendment.

4. Form D lists 185 days of FOS and 180 days of RAV. Section C 1.1.5 Operational Tempo (OPTEMPO) lists an indicative schedule of 67% of its time inport in ROS. The Test Support Status (TSS) OPTEMPO is expected to include nine months of ROS-15 status, two months of mobilization/activation and four months of underway operations per option period. Please clarify both the appropriate values for form D and the projected breakdown of ROS, mobilization/ activation, and underway operations per year. Please clarify any overlaps.

Answer: This question was answered previously in Q&A #2, answer to question #4. Section

1.1.5 and form D will be amended in a forthcoming solicitation amendment.

5. There is no pricing sheet for the familiarization period. How are we supposed to include the costs incurred during this time, especially considering that there could be anywhere from 15 to 45 days in this status? In order to roll the expected costs during the familiarization period into any annual pricing, we would have to predict the number of days and also pick which status could be "guaranteed" to happen, so that the costs could be recouped.

Answer: Section C-3.5.2 and C-1.7.11.5 states Contractor personnel costs and other associated costs of attending the turnover will be reimbursable. Post-award and prior to the start of the familiarization period the contractor should submit a request for COR or authorized Approving Official with an estimate of the costs associated with the familiarization period. Sections 3.5.2 and 1.7.11.5 will be amended to reflect this answer in a forthcoming solicitation amendment.

6. There is a manning schedule for ROS in Technical Manual - Section 19, yet RFP section B-7 states that the crew size for ROS will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis. What would bidders use the ROS minimum manning crew size stated in Technical Manual - Section 19 for? Please Clarify.

Answer: This question was previously answered in Q&A #2, question 8.

7. As per B-7, if the ROS crew is to be negotiated, how can the fixed price on FORM C be completed in ROS for consumables, transportation and handling, and insurance, all of which are at least somewhat dependent on the size of the crew for pricing?

Answer: This question was previously answered in Q&A #2, question 11. Form A-D will be revised via a forthcoming solicitation amendment.

8. Section C-1.4.2.2 last sentence states that "Contractor shall subscribe to a personnel casualty reporting service offered by First Advantage." We are not aware of any such service being offered by First Advantage that is being used by today's American ship managers. Also, are you aware that there was a service or database called MIB that was intended to be used for ship management companies to report personnel casualties that would be shared among those in the industry; however, this proved contentious, and even was subject to lawsuits, so that many, if not all responsible ship managers have refused to participate in this type of reporting in the recent years, due to privacy concerns and fear of lawsuits.

Please consider removing this requirement from the solicitation, as it is really not prudent or enforceable.

Answer: As answered in Q&A #2, question 22, other services besides First Advantage are not acceptable. First Advantage does provide all services required under section C-1.4.2.2

9. C-2.7.2.1 discusses required contractor attendance and states that "for availabilities in excess of 14 days, the Contractor shall provide at least two full-time Port Engineers." If the contractor's staff of shore-based Port Engineers included in their fixed fee as per C-3.4 is at least one full time Port Engineer (required minimum) and less than two full-time Port Engineers, would the excess portion of the second Port Engineer beyond what is included in the fixed fee be reimbursable, if required by MSC and not waived by the authorized Approving Agency?

Answer: Section C-2.7.2.1 requires for availabilities in excess of 14 days, the Contractor shall provide at least two full-time Port Engineers. Section C-3.4.6 states "The Contractor, in accordance with Section 3.4.4 Engineering Shore-side Personnel, shall employ a sufficient number of Port Engineers to effectively and efficiently manage all maintenance evolutions in support of this contract" therefore in the event the contractor only employs one port engineer the excess portion of the second port engineer beyond what is included in the fixed fee is not reimbursable. This answer will be incorporated in section 2.7.2.1 in a forthcoming solicitation

10. C-3.5.2 states that "Contractor personnel costs and other associated costs of attending the turnover will be reimbursable." Does this include salaries of shore -based personnel required to attend the familiarization period and turnover?

Answer: The costs of attending the turnover for shore-side personnel are not reimbursable.

This answer will be incorporated into the contract in a forthcoming solicitation amendment.

11. C - 1.8.5 states that the Contractor shall continue to maintain the "SBX-1 Operations Manual" and will be subject to audit and surveillance. Will MSC make copies of this manual available to bidders?

Answer: MSC will post the SBX-1 Operations Manual along with a forthcoming solicitation

12. Is the Contractor's P&I insurance responsible for the injury to or loss of life of sponsor and/or someone hired by sponsor personnel? It is understood that there will be US military as well as civilian employees and "others" onboard. MSC has used the terms Government/Sponsor/Mission Crew. The technical manual lists companies as having responsibility for government controlled spaces onboard, thus they would be under some form of government contract. There is also a contracted security detachment onboard. Does MSC require that the Contractor's P&I insurance cover any and all persons working onboard the vessel in some capacity?

Answer: The Contractor's P&I insurance should cover any and all persons working onboard the vessel.

13. According to C - 1.1.5 Operational Tempo (OPTEMPO) is anticipated, without guarantee, that the SBX-1 will spend 67% of its time inport in ROS. This paragraph goes on to state that the Test Support Status (TSS) OPTEMPO is expected to include nine months of ROS-15 status, two months of mobilization/activation and four months of underway operations per option period (14 months described for each 12 month option period). Please explain the difference between OPTEMPO and TSS OPTEMPO if any?

FORM D states that bidder should provide pricing based on FOS 185 days and RAV 180 days. With the understanding that the OPTEMPO described in C - 1.1.5 is an estimate, will MSC clarify that this is not a typo but rather that it is MSCs intention to price FOS 51% and RAV 49%?

Answer: See Q&A #2, answer to question 4. Section 1.1.5 and Form D will be amended in a forthcoming solicitation amendment.

14. Request for clarification of terms - "Government/Sponsor/Mission Crew" and "permanently assigned to vessel." C - 1.3.4.1 states that the Contractor will be reimbursed by the Government for meals and hotel services provided to Government/Sponsor/Mission Crew personnel when the total number of Government/Sponsor/Mission Crew personnel onboard exceeds 66. Next, section C - 1.3.4.1.1. states that U.S. military officers, civil service, and other personnel not permanently assigned to the vessel will pay the Master directly for all meals consumed.

The intent of this question is to clarify who exactly falls under the broad category(s) "Government/Sponsor/Mission Crew" and "permanently assigned to vessel" The RFP and TM cite at least three nongovernmental groups as having responsibility for government - controlled spaces;

Gryphon, Raytheon and AQUATE. Additionally there will be a NAVY contracted private security detachment. Are the aforementioned groups and security detachment included in the broad term "Government/Sponsor/Mission Crew personnel" and as such, to be feed and provided hotel services?

Answer: The Mission Integration (currently Gryphon), Radar Operations (currently Raytheon) and the Security Detachment (currently AQUATE) are included in the broad term "Government/Sponsor/Mission Crew personnel and as such, to be feed and provided hotel services.” This answer will be incorporated into the solicitation in a forthcoming amendment.

15. The proposed CBA states that when crews are required to share a room they will be entitled to an additional daily amount. Will MSC provide general arrangement drawings which clearly identify crew berthing spaces or at least confirm whether crew are double or even triple berthed onboard the SBX-1?

Crewmembers have rarely if ever been double or triple berthed onboard SBX-1. It is not anticipated this would change during the next contract.

16. Line 9 on the Solicitation cover sheet states that offers will be received until 2:00 PM on 13MAY2016. Section L.7. (g) states that the time for receipt of proposal is 4:30PM. Will MSC please clarify the exact date and time that offers are required to be submitted?

Answer: L-7(g) states, “If no time is specified in the solicitation, the time for receipt is 4:30 p.m., local time, for the designated Government office on the date that offers or revisions are due.” Since the solicitation states 2:00 PM, then 2:00 PM local Norfolk, VA, time is when proposals are due.

17. In Section L.7. (i) the last sentence reads "In cases where the paper copy and the electronic copy of the proposal conflict, the original paper copy shall take precedence." All previous direction is for submission via Compact Disc (CD). Does MSC also want submission of a paper copy or is CD the only required submission?

Answer: See Q&A #2, answer for question 40. L-7(i) will be amended in a forthcoming solicitation amendment.

18. Section L.8. (j) "Offeror shall indicate whether or not it currently has a Government-approved purchasing/accounting system(s)." This same question appears to be asked again in section L.8. (n).

Will MSC clarify whether this question is required to be answered twice or is this a typo?

Answer: L-8(A)(n) is redundant. Paragraph L-8(A)(n) will be removed from the solicitation in a forthcoming amendment.

19. Section L.8. D. Past Technical Performance Proposal NOTE - Past technical performance narratives shall be submitted within solicitation attachment L along with your proposal." Attachment L is the Award Fee Plan. Will MSC please clarify that this should read Attachment K?

Answer: Paragraph L-8(A)(n) will be removed in a forthcoming solicitation amendment.

20. It is understood that the vessel is currently operating under the USCG Alternative Compliance Program (ACP). The vessel will undergo only Underwater Hull Inspection in lieu of Dry-docking (UWILD) for normal periodic inspections. Will MSC provide complete history for initial dockings and/or credited UWILDs to date?

Answer: MSC will provide complete history for initial dockings and/or credited UWILDs to date upon request.

21. Will SBX-1 be made available for ship check prior to the solicitation due date of 13MAY2016?

Answer: See Q&A #2, answer to Question 52. It is not anticipated that the vessel will be available for ship check during the solicitation phase of the procurement.

22. Section L-7(a) discussing the submission of offers gives a warning about the delivery methods and the restrictions for access to Naval Station Norfolk. Can MSC confirm that FedEx (Federal Express) is an approved delivery courier (on base) with access to the MSC Office? What badging requirements and or advance notifications would be required if the bidder wished to hand deliver the proposal CDs to the MSC Office at 471 East C Street in Norfolk?

Answer: FedEx (Federal Express) is an approved delivery courier (on base) with access to the MSC Office. Individuals who have CAC cards or other military ID that normally allow them access to naval facilities will be able to access Naval Station Norfolk. If an individual wishing to hand deliver the proposals does not have the aforementioned credentials, then access to Naval Station Norfolk will need to be requested. For access to Naval Station Norfolk, the following must be provided to Robert McDermott robert.mcdermott1@navy.mil via email 7 days prior to the solicitation closing date: First, middle and last name, SSN, DOB, and company name. The answer to this question will be incorporated into the solicitation via a forthcoming

23. Technical Manual Section 15.25 states that the Contractor shall furnish, at his/her own expense, any consumable materials necessary to support Sponsor requirements in accordance with Section C- 5. 7.

Section C - 5.7 is marked only as "RESERVED". Will the contractor be required to furnish Sponsor Consumables (TM 15.25) and/or Sponsor Hazardous Material (TM 15.25.1) on SBX-1? Please provide an example or a listing of items identified as sponsor required consumables.

Answer: The contractor will be required to furnish Sponsor Consumables (TM 15.25) and/or Sponsor Hazardous Material (TM 15.25.1) on SBX-1. Examples and listing of items identified as sponsor required consumables are listed on starting on pages 108 of the Tech Manual (Sections 15.25 and 15.25.1). The reference to section C-5.7 will be removed from the technical manual in a forthcoming solicitation amendment.

24. We anticipate there could be a large number of third-party personnel on board which could pose a very large exposure from an insurance perspective. The contract appears silent as to responsibility to the max number of third-party personnel onboard, hence the contractor would be exposed ‘at law’. Can you clarify how many third-party personnel will be on board and who will be liable for them?

The SBX tech manual, Section 21.8 states there will be a maximum of 49 and an average of 23 Embarked Sponsor Personnel which conflicts with the 66 listed in the RFP.

Answer: See Q&A #2, answer to question 21 for the typical number of personnel onboard.

25. Section C-5.1.1.1.1 Consumables and Provisions states the Contractor provides “consumable supplies and provisions” at their own expense. It further states that “the Contractor shall procure all consumables from commercial sources. When operating outside of CONUS and Hawaii, the Contractor may order mailto:robert.mcdermott1@navy.mil consumables from the Navy Supply System”. This implies that when outside of CONUS and Hawaii, ONLY consumables may be ordered from the Navy Supply System, and therefore Provisions cannot be ordered from the Navy Supply System when outside of CONUS and Hawaii. Please clarify whether or not both Consumables and Provisions can be ordered from the Navy Supply System when outside of CONUS and Hawaii.

Answer: Both consumables and provisions may be ordered from the Navy Supply System when outside of CONUS and Hawaii. Section C-5.1.1.1.1 Consumables and Provisions, will be amended in a forthcoming solicitation amendment to incorporate this answer.

26. Section C-2.1.2 Electronic Systems requires the Contractor to “provide access to dedicated electronics technical services to ensure timely and effective maintenance and repairs to the wide range of electronic equipment installed on the SBX-1 in support of navigation, communications, machinery control and automation, and other shipboard systems.” Is the cost of providing these services, if through an arrangement with a subcontractor, a reimbursable cost?

Answer: MSC will reimburse the contractor for industrial assistance in accordance with section 2.6.1. MSC will not reimburse the contractor for costs associated with general subcontractor agreements between vessel operators and service providers. Any such costs must be factored into the fixed price. This answer will be incorporated into the solicitation in a forthcoming amendment.

Below are corrections to Q&A #2 which was previously posted to FEDBIZOPPS on 28 April 2016 for the SBX-1 RFP:

Q&A #2, Question 32: The answer should read as follows: If there are positions that will be filled by the incumbent contractor’s personnel, these personnel do not need to report early and are employees of the incumbent during the familiarization period. Section C-1.7.11.4 will be amended to incorporate this answer in a forthcoming solicitation amendment.

Q&A #2, Question 35: The answer should read as follows: Section F-3 is being removed from the contract. See section B-7 as amended in solicitation amendment 0001 addressing “additional crew”

Q&A #2, Question 47: The answer incorrectly references question 5. The answer for Question 47 should say, “See answer to question 51 below.”