Rev_PM35-MIP-2606- Prepo OM SSN_23Jun26.docx

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

From: COMSC N105A

Subject: Operation & Maintenance of Five (5) Government-Owned Maritime Prepositioning Ships (MPS)

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY AND YOUR RESPONSE IS NOT AN OFFER. THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION DOES NOT COMMIT THE GOVERNMENT TO PAY ANY COSTS INCURRED IN PREPARATION OF ANY SUBMISSION TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE, OR TO CONTRACT FOR SERVICES.

THIS NOTICE IS FOR THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE (O&M) OF FIVE (5) GOVERNMENT-OWNED, MPS VESSELS. MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND (MSC) INTENDS TO AWARD CONTRACTS FOR THESE VESSELS IN TWO LOTS. LOT ONE (1) WILL INCLUDE TWO (2) WATSON CLASS SHIPS, CONSISTING OF THE USNS SISLER AND USNS DAHL. LOT TWO (2) WILL INCLUDE THREE (3) BOBO CLASS SHIPS, CONSISTING OF THE USNS WILLIAMS, USNS LUMMUS AND USNS BUTTON.

1. SCOPE OF WORK/MISSION (LOT 1):

a. The USNS DAHL and USNS SISLER are employed in the worldwide prepositioning of Government cargo, including but not limited to hazardous, explosive/ammunition, vehicular, bulk, and general cargoes. These vessels support mission requirements specific to the United States Marine Corps and have NAVAIR certified flight decks. The ships may also be used for other Government missions, or in the absence of a defined mission, may be placed in ROS as directed. The ships must be operated in a professional manner, maintained in good condition, and must be mission-ready at all times.

b. Government-Owned Contractor Operated ships are operated by a company under contract to MSC and manned by Contract Mariners (CONMARs) crew members who are Contractor employees. The operating company is contractually obligated to provide ship maintenance. The Contractor is required to operate the ships and related ship systems and equipment in accordance with (IAW) U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) rules and regulations that would apply as if it is owned by a non-government entity, which includes but is not limited to maintaining a valid USCG Certificate of Inspection and ABS Classifications (including all statutory certificates) at all times. Maintenance of cargo and overhaul will occur approximately every three (3) years. During these cargo maintenance and ship overhaul periods, the Government may direct ships to be placed into a ROS status.

c. During the performance period, the Government estimates that the ships will spend the majority of the time fully manned in FOS status. Actual in port and underway percentages may vary. Underway periods consist of, but are not limited to, independent steaming, convoy operations and transits to/from selected ports for vessel and cargo maintenance or for the loading/discharging of cargo.

d. The ships and the cargoes are designed for worldwide, extended independent underway operations in remote geographic locations. Therefore, self-sufficiency in operations and maintenance is an important mission requirement. For planning purposes and without guarantee, the Government anticipates prepositioning one of the vessels in the Indian Ocean (Diego Garcia- Squadron 2) and the other vessel in the Western Pacific (Guam/Saipan or Korea) – Squadron 3.

e. MSC will be using the standardized Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Performance Work Statement (PWS) which is provided as an attachment to this Sources Sought Notice.

f. Normal OPTEMPO for each ship in FOS is based on its prepositioning location which may vary for any of the ships.

g. The Contractor will be required to possess and maintain at least a SECRET-level Facility Security Clearance at the time of proposal. Key shipboard and shoreside personnel performing under this requirement must possess and maintain SECRET security clearances.

2. SCOPE OF WORK/MISSION (LOT 2):

a. The USNS LUMMUS, USNS WILLIAMS, and USNS BUTTON are employed in the worldwide prepositioning of U.S. Marine Corps cargo including, but not limited to, hazardous, explosive, ammunition, vehicular cargo, bulk cargoes (includes liquid cargoes carried in bulk), containerized cargo (including containerized cargoes in bulk), general cargoes and for other Government missions as directed. The Contractor must operate and maintain the vessels and related ship systems and equipment in a professional manner IAW the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) rules and regulations and IAW Military Sealift Command (MSC) standards of material readiness and appearance, and ensure the vessels are mission-ready at all times. The vessels will be manned by U.S. commercial mariners.

b. MSC will be using the standardized O&M PWS. It is anticipated, without guarantee, that all of the ships will be in Full Operating Status (FOS) for the duration of the contract. The ships will return to CONUS approximately every three (3) years for maintenance of cargo and overhaul. During these cargo maintenance and ship overhaul periods, the Government may direct ships to be placed into a Reduced Operating Status (ROS).

c. It is anticipated that the vessels will be in port a majority of the time. Actual underway periods may vary for any of the ships and operational commitments may warrant deviation from this estimate.

d. The scope for this effort also includes the operation, maintenance and safeguarding of Communication Suites aboard the Flagship, Alternate-Flagship (Alt-Flagship), or other MSC vessels in each of two squadrons. This includes shipboard communication, Local Area Network (LAN) and associated Information Technology (IT) systems onboard these vessels. Services must be available 24- hours per day regardless of vessel location and status, unless otherwise directed by the Master, Contracting Officer or Contracting Officer Representative (COR). Equipment maintained under this contract must be capable of performing the required functions 24 hours per day, each day of a given year.

e. The Flag may transfer to a different Flagship at any time, but a Flag Shift is typically done approximately every three years when shipyard availabilities occur. The operating area for each class of ship may be as follows:

f. The Contractor will be required to possess and maintain a SECRET-level Facility Security Clearance at the time of offer. Communication Suite Deployed Detachment Manager and LAN IT Managers performing under this requirement must possess and maintain SECRET security clearances. All other key shipboard and shoreside personnel performing under this requirement must possess and maintain SECRET security clearances.

g. The equipment and systems which the contractor will be required to operate and maintain in accordance with this Sources Sought, are shown in the Systems Equipment Section below.

ESTIMATED WORKLOAD

The estimated workload for the services required under the Communication Suites section of this effort is provided below. Peak times occur while vessels are underway and during exercises, which occur at varied frequencies and periods (This is provided only for planning purposes and is not a guarantee).

Squadron/ Vessel Man-hours Operations/ Maintenance Per Year # of Messages (per 24 hr. period)

MPSRON 2

15,000 500 incoming (800 peak) 5-10 outgoing (10-20 peak)

MPSRON 3

15,000 700 incoming (1,000 peak) 5-10 outgoing (10-20 peak)

*Maintenance may be done concurrently with the monitoring of circuits.

The Contractor must operate all equipment to meet flagship mission requirements for communications of classified and unclassified information. The Contractor must be a Cryptographic Material System (CMS) custodian.

There will be one detachment (one per Squadron) with the potential to add a second detachment. Manning must consist of, at a minimum, the following personnel per Detachment: One Detachment Manager and three LAN/IT Managers who will also perform the role of Operator as specified herein. Two personnel per detachment will serve as EKMS LE Account Managers. The fixed price rates offered must include all straight and overtime wages and other compensation, training expenses, overhead, all travel to and from Squadrons or vessel and other costs necessary for personnel to perform all of the activities required.

Communication Suite key personnel are the Shore Based Contract Manager, Deployed Detachment Manager and LAN IT Managers. Communication Suite key personnel, except the Shore Based Contract Manager, must have SECRET clearance from Defense Security System (DSS) and must maintain such status for the period of performance. Technical personnel must be Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer or similar. The LAN IT manager must meet the Information Assurance (IA) certification requirements stated in Department of Defense Directive 8570.1 Series (DoD 8570) as IAT Level 2. This individual must be certified to Operating System (OS) certification for Win 7 or appropriate version being utilized onboard the MSC Vessels, along with A+, NETWORK + and SECURITY +. The Detachment Manager must have all the qualifications of a LAN/IT Manager with the exception of the certification for Operating System (OS) certification for Win 7 or appropriate version being utilized onboard the MSC Vessels, along with A+, NETWORK + and SECURITY +.

An LAN IT Manager must be responsible for supporting the Squadron ships with, but not limited to, Information Operations Conditions (INFOCON), Information Assurance & Vulnerability Assessment (IAVA), and Electronic Key Management System (EKMS) issues.

The Contractor must provide a technical representative to attend all communication grooms of communication suites during shipyard availability. The Contractor must also provide a member of the Detachment to attend other vessels in the Squadron, monthly, to assist with communications issues.

SYSTEMS EQUIPMENT

The list below outlines the equipment/systems on each vessel that will be under the contractor’s cognizance. The “system” extends from the equipment to all associated antennae and devices. These lists may not be all inclusive and the Government reserves the right to upgrade/change the equipment at any time.

T-AK CLASS

3. F

COMSATCOM (SECURE VOICE

AND DATA)

NEXT GENERATION WIDEBAND (NGW) INMARSAT

(Ka-Band / Enhance L-Band)

AN/WSC-3(V), 5/25kHz SATCOM MODEM, AN/PRC-117F/G, PRC-158, URC-200

AN/WSC-3(V), OK454/WSC (DAMA), MD-1324/U

(5kHz SATCOM MODEM), AN/PRC-117F, DMR/UHF AN/USC-61

TACTICAL HF/VHF/UHF

(SECURE/NON-SECURE) VOICE

AN/WSC-3(V), AN/VRC-92F (SINCGARS), RT-1523E, URC-200

R-2368, HF MICOM RM500/RM500R, RF-5800

SIPR: SMIS mini- C (WIN10 LTSC)

KGV-11 (ANDVT), ISM (IRIDIUM SECURE MODULE), MD-1324/U, KIV-7M, CMWS

PORTABLE HANDHELD

RADIO EQUIPMENT

IRIDIUM, VARIOUS MAKE AND MODEL OF VHF/UHF RADIOS

3. CONTRACT STYLE: A Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) award fee contract with reimbursable pass-through elements is anticipated for the operation and maintenance of each lot of vessels. Reimbursable pass-through elements include port charges, maintenance and repair (M&R), non-watch overtime, fuel, costs associated with ship availabilities, and Government directed alterations/work.

4. PERFORMANCE PERIOD: One twelve (12) month base period with four (4) twelve (12) month option periods.

5. COMMENCEMENT: Contract performance for Lot 1 is anticipated to commence on 01 June 2027 and for Lot 2 on 01 October 2027.

6. Anticipated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code: The NAICS Code for this requirement is 483111 – Deep Sea Freight Transportation and the Small Business Administration (SBA) small business size standard is 1,050 employees.

7. INFORMATION REQUESTED: In order for the Government to consider a company’s response to this source sought notice during the development of the acquisition strategy, to include the small business set-aside determination, interested parties must provide the following information:

a. Name of company, POC, Address, Telephone Number, e-mail address, Contractor and Government Entity Cage (CAGE), Code and size of business - Large Business, Small Business, 8(a), Historically Under-utilized Business Zone (HUBZone), Women-owned and/or Service-Disabled Veteran-owned.

b. The government is still determining the acquisition strategy, and if this acquisition will be a small business set-aside, then FAR clause 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting, applies. Note that if there are sufficient demonstrated interest and capability among small businesses, a key factor in determining if an acquisition will be a small business set-aside is that two or more responsible small business prime contractors must be capable of performing at least 50% of the effort, as defined in FAR clause 52.219-14. If it is determined that a small business set-aside is appropriate and your company anticipates submitting a proposal as the prime contractor for a small business set-aside, please provide specific details and rationale as to how compliance with FAR clause 52.219-14 would be achieved, including specific details regarding teaming arrangements, and if subcontracts are to be used, provide the anticipated percentage of the effort to be subcontracted and whether small or large business subcontractors will be used. Teaming and/or subcontracting arrangements should be clearly delineated and previous experience in teaming must be provided.

c. Operating Hire Information:

iii. Notional Manning tables for shipboard and shoreside personnel for responses to this source sought notice are as follows:

Table 1:

Lot 1 (WATSON CLASS)

Shipboard Manning

Deck Department

Engine Department

Steward Department

*Key Shipboard personnel

Table 2:

Shipboard Manning

Deck Department

Engine Department

Steward Department

*Key Shipboard personnel

Table 4:

Daily cost must be priced based on the following:

Full Operating Status (FOS) Per Diem. The proposed per-diem rates must include a two-day on-board turnover period when replacing shipboard key billets. The contractor’s firm-fixed-price FOS per diem rates must include the full wages and fringe benefits for each crewmember for an eight-hour workday, seven days per week including weekends and holidays (56 hours per week per person), and 365 days per year (including all holidays). In addition, any overtime incurred for the purpose of maintaining required “watches” must be part of the firm-fixed-price per diem. This includes the routine gangway watch, also referred to as the gangway security watch, which includes roving patrol duties. With the exception of OCONUS travel, all crew travel costs must be at Contractor’s expense and must not be reimbursed by the Government. These travel costs include but are not limited to costs related to crew rotation and MSC required training.

Non-Flag FOS Per Diem. The proposed per-diem rates must be based in accordance with the FOS Per Diem defined above and in accordance with the manning table (Table 3: Lot 2, BOBO Class).

Modified FOS Per Diem. The proposed per-diem rates must include a three-day on-board turnover period when replacing shipboard key billets. The contractor’s firm fixed-price Modified FOS per diem rates shall include the full wages and fringe benefits for each crewmember for an eight-hour workday, seven days per week (56 hours per week per person), and 365 days per year (including all holidays). In addition, any overtime incurred for the purpose of maintaining required “watches” shall be part of the firm-fixed-price per diem. This includes the routine gangway watch, also referred to as the gangway security watch, which includes roving patrol duties. This rate may be utilized during layberth periods when there is no pier services available, such as shorepower and /or when cargo is loaded onboard the vessel.

Reduced Operating Status (ROS-5) Per Diem. The ROS-5 per diem rates must be based on the ship fully manned by the ROS-5 crew eight hours per day, five days a week (Monday through Friday) except for Federal Holidays. The firm-fixed price per diem rates should also include a two-day on-board turnover period when replacing shipboard key billets. Firm-fixed price per diem rates must also include the full wages and fringe benefits for the contractor to maintain a duty watch of two mariners on weekday non-work hours, weekends and holidays. One watch stander assigned to engine watch and the other to deck watch. Either the engine watch stander or deck watch stander must be a licensed officer. Firm fixed price per diem payment must be considered payment in full for all ROS-5 services, equipment, supplies, operation and maintenance of the ship and Government equipment, and all contractor personnel under the contract, including but not limited to all penalty time, bonuses, payments and emoluments payable to contractor personnel for services. The ship must be fully manned during normal working hours. Gangway security-watch overtime, when required, will be reimbursed with Contracting Officer approval and therefore should not be included in the firm fixed price per diem. All crew travel costs, including those related to crew rotation and MSC required training, must be at Contractor’s expense.

Repair Availability (RAV) Per Diem. The contractor’s firm-fixed price RAV per diem rates must include full wages and fringe benefits for each crewmember for a ten-hour workday, seven days per week (including all holidays). The proposed per diem rates must also include the full wages and fringe benefits for the Contractor to maintain a duty watch of two mariners at all times. One watch stander assigned to engine watch and the other to deck watch. Either the engine watch stander or deck watch stander must be a licensed officer qualified in the operation of the ship’s fire detection, bilge alarms, firefighting systems (including fixed systems), and dewatering systems to implement emergency response plans with local response crews. The Contractor’s crews shall live onboard during the entire RAV period unless prior authorization is obtained from the COR. Per diem payment must be considered payment in full for all RAV services, equipment, supplies, operation and maintenance of the ship and Government equipment, and all contractor personnel under the contract, including but not limited to all penalty time, bonuses, payments and emoluments payable to contractor personnel for services. If shipyard work hours exceed ten hours per day, overtime will be reimbursed with MSC approval. All crew travel costs, including those related to crew rotation and MSC required training, must be paid by the Contractor and will not be reimbursed by the Government.

Table 5:

Base Period (12 months)

Option Period 1 (12 Months)

Option Period 2 (12 Months)

Option Period 3 (12 Months)

Option Period 4 (12 Months)

d. Financial Viability Information:

Contractors must have adequate financial resources or the ability to obtain such resources to perform the contract. Adequate financial resources for this requirement are estimated at $33,600,000 (Lot 1) and $35,000,000 (Lot 2). Provide a statement that indicates contractor’s ability to obtain adequate financial resources to perform this effort including the three (3) most recent consecutive years of audited and certified financial statement which must consist of a balance sheet, profit and loss statement and a cash flow statement, or a letter of credit.

e. Facility Clearance Information:

Contractor will be required to furnish evidence of SECRET Facility Security Clearance at the time of proposal. Provide a statement that indicates whether the contractor possesses SECRET Facility Clearance.

f. Experience Information:

h. Brief summary of company’s history relative to similar requirements;

ii. Brief summary of company’s experience and capability of a minimum of five (5) years within the last 10 years of simultaneously operating multiple ocean-going ships greater than 4,500 gross tons and more than 11,500 horsepower simultaneously;

iii. Brief summary of at least three vessel dry dockings that your company has planned and executed that were valued at over $20,000,000 and lasting more than 60 days; and

iv. Brief summary that demonstrates company’s experience operating large vessels (ships greater than 4,500 gross tons and more than 11,500 horsepower) in remote locations with limited local industrial support immediately available.

g. Whether your company is proposing O&M for Lot 1, Lot 2 or both Lots;

h. Any pertinent questions/concerns.

8. It is requested that the above information be provided no later than 2:00 PM, local time Norfolk, VA, on 1 July 2026. The point of contact for this action is Maria Poole. Responses should be sent via email to maria.i.baquerizo-poole.civ@us.navy.mil. Documentation of capabilities shall be presented in sufficient detail for the Government to determine that your company possesses the necessary functional area expertise and experience to compete for this acquisition. Submissions are not to exceed five typewritten pages in no less than 12 font size. Note: Evidence of financial viability (audited and certified financial statement which shall include a balance sheet, profit and loss statement and a cash flow statement, or a letter of credit) will not be counted toward the five-page limit.

9. Proprietary information should be clearly marked. The requested information is for planning and market research purposes only and will not be publicly released. This is not a request for a proposal. Please note the information within this notice will be updated and/or may change prior to an official synopsis/solicitation, if any. The Government has not made a commitment to procure any of the requirements discussed, and release of this source sought notice should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.