N3220526R0014 Q and A.pdf

1 The solicitation for the Hawaii vessel is due on June 21st, which is a Sunday. Will that be revised?

Answer: Response Due Date was changed from 21 June to 22 June, per Amendment 0001, and from 22 JUN 2026 to 30

JUN 2026, per Amendment 0002.

2 When does MSC intend to award this contract? The laydays starting in September do not leave much room for modifying a vessel.

Answer: Award is anticipated around October 2026. Laydays have been revised; see Amendment 0002.

3 Section 2.10.2 of the PWS states that “The vessel’s crane may also be used to launch and recover an unmanned SDV…”

Section 2.10.8 of the PWS also states that “Launch and recovery of the SDVs by crane or A-frame shall be unmanned and loaded with sponsor gear.” However the launch and recovery matrix in section 2.10.12 of the PWS shows a footnote to the SDV crane launch indicating that the SDV will be a manned lift using the crane. Will the SDVs be launched manned or unmanned?

Answer: Unmanned. PWS matrix was amended.

4 What is the anticipated contract award date and will there be an option to extend the delivery laydays based on the actual award date?

Answer: Please see response to number 2.

5 Section 2.9.1.3 of the PWS includes 6 GFE mission support vans. Can these vans be stacked and, if so, how high? Are these standard ISO vans with double doors on one side or do they have single doors and which side are the doors located?

Answer: No, the vans cannot be stacked. The sponsor does not want them stacked as they are to support Government personnel in their effort to upkeep of their diving vehicles. The support vans are 9 feet high plus they are standard ISO vans with double doors located on the side of the support vans.

6 Section 2.9.1.4 of the PWS requires carriage of 6 CRRCs. Can these be stacked and, if so, can racks be provided as SME?

Answer: The CRRC can be stacked, however the sponsor will not provide any CRRC stowage racks.

7 Section 2.9.1.7 of the PWS indicates states that there are four 11-meter RHIB cradles/trailers and two cradle/trailers can be provided if 2 davits are installed. Will all 4 RHIBs be on board at once? If all 4 RHIBs will be on board at once, will they all be the same design, or different variants? If enough davits are provided for the full complement of RHIBs on board, please confirm that there would be no need for additional storage space on deck for cradles/trailers. Are the cradles for the three variants of RHIBs listed in the PWS identical and if so, can they be used as cradles for permanently installed davits? The dimensions provided for the RHIBs are 39’ long x 10’ wide. Given the deck layout requirement to have a 5’ clear zone on 3 sides of each item stored on deck, each RHIB would require 735 sq ft of deck space, for a total of 2,940 sq ft for all four RHIBs. It this correct and should it be included in the 4,000 sq ft deck space requirement?

(a) Will all 4 RHIBs be on board at once?

Answer: Yes, but it will be mission dependent.

(b) If all 4 RHIBs will be on board at once, will they all be the same design, or different variants?

Answer: There may be different variants.

(c) If enough davits are provided for the full complement of RHIBs on board, please confirm that there would be no need for additional storage space on deck for cradles/trailers?

Answer: Even if enough davits are provided, the minimum open deck space remains the same.

(d) Are the cradles for the three variants of RHIBs listed in the PWS identical and if so, can they be used as cradles for permanently installed davits?

Answer: No, the three variants are not identical and the government provided cradles cannot be permanently mounted.

(e) The dimensions provided for the RHIBs are 39’ long x 10’ wide. Given the deck layout requirement to have a 5’ clear zone on 3 sides of each item stored on deck, each RHIB would require 735 sq ft of deck space, for a total of 2,940 sq ft for all four RHIBs. Is this correct, and should it be included in the 4,000 sq ft deck space requirement?

Answer: Following the sponsor’s review of the deck space requirement, they have increased open deck space requirement to 5,600 square feet to support their mission dependent loadouts including deck space for RHIBs. The PWS has been amended accordingly.

8 Section 2.9.1.9 of the PWS shows 2 SDVs/UUVs with a length of 26.5’. Section 2.9.1.19 also shows 2 UUVs with a length of 35’. Is the total number of UUVs to be carried two or four, and which dimensions are correct? Please confirm whether the dimensions listed in section 2.9.1.19 are for the actual UUVs or for containers/racks that are used to transport and store the UUVs.

Answer:

(a) The total of UUV is two as noted in section 2.9.1.19. PWS section 2.9.1.9-11 has been amended to remove UUV.

(b) Each UUV weighs 14,400 lbs. and its dimensions are 35 ft x 12 ft. x 12 ft.

9 Section 2.9.2.3 of the PWS requires bottle racks to hold 40 bottles of aviation breathing or medical grade gasses. This same requirement appears in sections 2.9.1.18, 2.13.1, 2.13.2, and 2.13.3. Please confirm whether the requirements are all referring to the same set of bottles and can be complied with in a single installation of bottle racks on the vessel.

Answer: There are three requirements, 1) forty (40) K type bottles of any combination of Aviator Breathing Grade O2, Diver Breathing Grade N2O2, and Diver Breathing Grade HeO2 for diver SCBA re-fill. 2) N2 for SDV battery blanket and 3) Oxygen and Acetylene bottles for metal cutting. The SCBA re-fill bottles will be stored as indicated in 2.13.1. N2 and Oxy/Acetylene bottles can be stored with other shipboard maintenance gasses for use on the main deck.

10 Section 2.9.2.5 of the PWS requires storage racks for four 250 hp and four 65 hp outboard motors. These same requirements appear in sections 2.9.1.5 and 2.9.1.8. Please confirm that these are the same requirements.

Answer: There are four CRRC 65 hp motors and four 250 hp motors for the RHIB. The PWS has been amended accordingly in Sections 2.9.1.5 and 2.9.1.8 to clarify.

11 Section 2.10.3 of the PWS requires ladders for deployment of divers located on both sides of the vessel and refers to

Section 2.9.2.11. Section 2.9.2.11 of the PWS requires only one platform. Please clarify whether the diver access ladders or platforms needs to be on both sides of the vessel simultaneously or is there an option to install one platform that can be deployed on either side of the vessel.

Answer: The vessel shall provide one ladder for the deployment and recovery of divers and swimmers that is capable of being deployed on either side as conditions warrant. PWS 2.10.3 has been amended accordingly.

12 Section 2.10.2 of the PWS states that “The vessel’s crane may also be used to launch and recover an unmanned SDV, UUV, CRRC, PWC or manned RHIBs with sea state limitations shown in the matrix below. In addition to the cargo crane the Contractor shall provide an A-frame with a minimum capacity of 34,000 lbs. (at max reach/extension) used to launch and recover SDVs, PWCs, CRRCs, UUVs, ROVs, S/TS, and RHIBs.” The launch and recovery matrix in section 2.10.12 shows the SDV launched by both the crane and the a-frame in a manned condition. Does the contractor have the option of using either a crane or an a-frame for SDV launch and recovery? If a crane is provided that meets the launch and recovery criteria for the SDVs, as well as the other government assets, is the contractor still required to install an a-frame?

Answer: Yes. The PWS requires both a crane and A- Frame

13 Section 2.10.4 of the PWS requires an aft control station with an unobstructed view of the launch and recovery operations. If the aft control station, including a DP control station, is located in the aft section of the pilot house, but does not offer an unobstructed view of ALL launch and recovery operations, is it acceptable to provide camera coverage at the aft station that provide vies of all launch and recovery operations?

Answer: It is unacceptable to provide camera coverage at the aft station.

14 Section 3.2 of the PWS requires messing for the 35 personnel on board in addition to the crew. Is the requirement to seat all 35 government assigned personnel at once, or is it acceptable that the mess accommodates two seatings of 18-20 personnel?

Answer: Yes, two seatings for 18-20 government personnel is acceptable, and the PWS section 3.2 has been amended accordingly.

15 The PWS requires accommodations for 35 government assigned personnel. In section 3.10 of the PWS, food service for government personnel states forty-five, but shows 35 in parenthesis. Please confirm how many Government assigned personnel need to be accommodated and provided meals while on board. Is it 35 or 45?

Answer: It is 35, and the PWS section 3.10 is amended accordingly.

16 Is an active FCL required at the time of quote/proposal submission, or is it only required at the time of contract award?

Answer: Per SPECIAL-TIME PROFORMA Part V(a)(B) Contractor Facility Clearance. The Contractor shall possess a

SECRET facilities clearance at time of proposal submission.

17 PWS 1.7.2

Shipboard crane and A-frame shall be ABS certified and shall maintain this certification throughout their service life in accordance with ABS Certification of Lifting Appliances and both shall be included in the Register of Lifting Appliances.

Vessel shall maintain CRC - OC Class Notation for the crane and CRC – OC notation for the A-Frame, at a minimum If crane is used as a method for launching and recovering manned RHIBs/SDV’s, the vessel shall maintain the CRC – OC

PL++ class notation. If an A-Frame is used as a method for launching and recovering manned RHIB’s/SDV’s, the vessel shall maintain the CRC-OC-PL class notation.

Question:

1. If the crane is CRC-OC PL++ and is the only lifting device used for manned lifts, can a non-certified A-Frame with

ABS design review and an ABS Statement of Fact regarding the installation be accepted?

Answer: No, an ABS Statement of Fact regarding installation is not acceptable. The vessel must have a crane with a

CRC-OC class notation. The vessel also must have an A-frame crane with SP or OC Class notation.

2. If a crane that is CRC-OC PL++ is the only lifting device used for all lifts, Is an A-Frame still required?

Answer: Please refer to Q&A 12.

18 PWS 2.5

Open deck space. Minimum 4000 sq. ft. contiguous open deck space.

Question:

1. Is 4,000 sq.ft adequate for all of the equipment expected to be on board at the same time?

Answer: Following the sponsor’s review of the deck space requirement, they have increased open deck space to 5,600 square feet to provide space for all equipment expected to be onboard at the same time. PWS section 2.5 has been amended accordingly.

19 PWS 2.9.1

Sponsor Mission Equipment (SME): All deck stored equipment shall be griped or stowed to support open ocean transit in up to Sea State 8 conditions.

Question:

1. Is 100% of all of the listed equipment expected to be on board at the same time?

Answer: No, it will be mission dependent.

2. Is “stacking” of equipment allowed?

Answer: Please refer to Answer Q&A 5 and 6

3. Are there any SME items which are semi-permanent? Installed at the onset and left on in every configuration? Such as

RSL’s or a Gun Safe?

Answer: The SME is not permanent as the load out is mission dependent.

4. Are lifting arrangements available for all SME?

Answer: Yes

5. Are Sea fastening arrangements available for all SME?

Answer:

No, sea fastening arrangements are not available for all SME. Sponsor personnel will be available to assist in securing their mission equipment as stated in 2.9.1.

20 PWS 2.10

Lift Systems: The vessel shall provide a crane and A-frame to serve as the primary launch and recovery system for SDV, UUV, ROV and PWCs. The craft will be manned or unmanned during launch and recovery operations as outlined in the sections below. The vessel shall provide 24-hour launch/recovery services in support of Government requirements. The vessel shall ensure every available resource is used to maintain the system in a continual full operating status.

Question:

1. If a crane can make all the lifts, is an A-Frame still required?

Answer: Please refer to Q&A 12 21 Solicitation+-+N3220526R0014, Page 5 - DD Form 254: Where should Offerors include a completed copy of the DD

Form 254 (attachment 08)? The form is not mentioned under "Instructions to Offerors" but included under the attachment sections of file "Solicitation+-+N3220526R0014".

Answer: There is no requirement for Offerors to submit a completed DD Form 254. The attachment conveys security requirements.

22 PWS Pages 14/15 - 3.10 and 3.10.2: Several sections state "forty-five (35)," which appears to be inconsistent. We assume the intended number of personnel remains 35; however, please confirm.

Answer: Please refer to Q&A 15

23 Attach+(06)+-+Basic+Pricing+Data: Paragraph (c) and Line Item 33 of this the tab state the performing period is 335 days, but cell G47 has 334 days in the formula. Please advise.

Answer: Attachment (06) - Basic Pricing Data Sheet Cell G47 in Option 4 has been revised; see Amendment 0002.