Sole Source Justification_LCC Shaft Seal_Redacted.pdf

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION FOR SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITIONS

From: Matthew Brantz, Code 892

To: Code 02 Simplified Acquisition Branch

Subj: SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

1. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIRED SUPPLIES/SERVICES, ESTIMATED

VALUE, AND DELIVERYREQUIREMENTS

The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD), Memphis

Detachment, Code 892, intends to purchase supplies and services to support an emergent repair of the Large Cavitation Channel (LCC) Main Motor Shaft Seal.

The Large Cavitation Channel is a large-scale water tunnel that uses recirculating water to simulate various test conditions in a controlled environment. A 14,000hp electric pump circulates 1.4 million gallons of water. The electric motor is coupled to a 36.25” diameter shaft that penetrates the pressure boundary into the water-filled channel. A John Crane Marine Seal restricts the water in the channel from entering the motor room. Wartsila Defense Incorporated (WDI) purchased the John Crane

Marine division responsible for the production and maintenance of these seals.

The LCC seal suffered a failure on 7 November 2019 and urgently needs to be repaired in order to support critical tests for a major US Navy Submarine program.

A delay in the scheduled test could have a significant impact on national safety

The failed LCC Shaft Seal is impairing the LCC’s ability to conduct NSWCCD’s

Very Large Test Apparatus (VLTA) testing.

The total cost for the repair is estimated at

2. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION FOR SOLE SOURCE BASED ON

CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OR NATURE OF THE

ACQUISITION

The seal used in the LCC is a proprietary design developed by John Crane

Marine Division (formerly). When WDI purchased John Crane Marine they became the only company who can re-manufacture the unique parts required for this repair. The parts needed for this repair are not available as COTS and require specialized design and manufacturing specific to the LCC application. The unique features of the parts are proprietary to WDI and cannot be manufactured by another vendor. There is no other identical seal in the world since the seal is specific for the testing of LCC. In order for the seal to work properly, the replacement parts need to be manufactured and installed by a company with knowledge of the original, unique

John Crane Marine seal used at the LCC, and at the present time, only WDI can support this effort.

Additionally, WDI maintains the expertise to disassemble this seal at the LCC

Memphis Detachment and repair the seal within the timeframe that supports the critical test schedule for a major US Navy Submarine program. Estimated time if required to dis-assemble, Reverse engineer the design by a different manufacturer, and manufacture components would greatly exceed the time allotted to this test schedule and would adversely impact the VLTA program by months.

The VLTA program is sponsored by NAVSEA PMS 397, PMS 450 and PEO

Submarines for critical COLUMBIA Class and NEXTGEN submarine propulsion development. The sponsors have already invested over on this test program and any delays have the potential to impact critical design decisions and potentially result in cancelled testing and reduced funding to Carderock.

3. MARKET SURVEY

While there are a few other companies that perform marine shaft seal repair at this scale, only WDI has the proprietary design and manufacturing capabilities to obtain the materials required to rebuild the LCC Seal. Even if the other companies had the ability to Reverse engineer the seal after disassembling it, it would take several months to create a design and produce the necessary components. There are several long lead-time components needed and any increase in production time will have an unacceptable effect on test schedule.

WDI competitors: AEGIR-Marine headquartered in the Netherlands, Lagersmit headquarter in the Netherlands and Simplex Americas headquarter in the USA.

Vendor Location Costs($)

WDI Chesapeake, VA

(U.S.A.)

AEGIR Netherlands

Lagersmit Netherlands

Simplex Americas

LLC

Flemington, NJ

(U.S.A.)

4. ADDITIONAL FACTS

N/A

CUSTOMER SIGNATURE:

I certify that the statements and information provided above, are complete and correct to the best of my knowledge. I understand that the processing of this sole source justification precludes the use of full and open competition.

8-14-2020

Signature of Contracting Officer Date

Digitally signed by WHITNEY.GARY.D.1161562382 DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USN, cn=WHITNEY.GARY.D.1161562382