Single Source Determination - Maritime Portal Redacted_Redacted.pdf

Version 2.0

SINGLE SOURCE DETERMINATION USING

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES (SAP)

FOR AN ACTION NOT EXCEEDING THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

(AUTHORITY: FAR 13.106-1(b)(1))

1. Agency and contracting activity. Department of Commerce, NOAA Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Law Enforcement.

2. Description of supplies or services required to meet agency needs (including the estimated value).

OLE requires a robust Automatic Identification System (AIS) database that allows Investigative Analysts to research and track vessels of interest. Analysts need the ability to query historical AIS data and extract the vessel movement data from the system. The system shall include automatic vessel monitoring capabilities.

Period of performance: 5/17/2023- 5/16/2024 Estimated total cost:

3. Identification of the single source or the brand name to be solicited.

IHS Markit Maritime Portal

4. Supporting rationale. Only one source or brand name is reasonably available as detailed below:

Other - Only one source is capable – Only one source is capable of providing the services required at the level of quality required because the services are unique or highly specialized. Maritime Portal is the International Maritime Organization's designated officiator and only source of the IMO numbering system so they have singular insight into the global system of vessel registration. Historical AIS data is available through the system covering a global network of vessels over the past two decades. The Maritime Portal provides OLE with a unique analytical toolset to process this data. It also allows for vessel movement data to be downloaded and extracted from their database. The Maritime Portal is proprietary to IHS Markit and market research has not revealed any other sources with these capabilities.

5. Market Research.

Market research was conducted into various AIS databases; however, no other database was found to be as robust as MIRS nor capable of providing the same level of data. Marine Traffic relies on a public network of AIS sensors that anyone can submit data to. This lack of verification and accountability renders it unusable for investigative purposes. OLE evaluated has uncovered several problems with the service’s automatic AIS analytics. Spire’s AIS sensors are less robust and cover a shorter period of time that of Maritime Global. This lack of historical data could potentially inhibit our ability to conduct long-term investigations