Sole Source Justification Redacted.pdf

Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Sole Source.

The statutory authority permitting this sole source action is 41 U.S.C. 1901, Simplified acquisition procedures - a sole source acquisition using simplified acquisition procedures for the acquisition of commercial items, as implemented by FAR 13.501(a).

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority.

LBI, Inc. has produced weather and oceanographic buoys for use in the Arctic Basin for many years, garnering experience in the productions of high-quality products capable of withstanding adverse conditions in high-latitude, polar oceans. From 2008-2009, LBI, Inc. specifically developed the AXIB II buoys for the US Interagency Arctic Buoy Program (USIABP) to be capable of ship or air deployments and to survive in the seasonal ice zone. Previous buoy designs, including those from other suppliers, had high attrition rates and were not capable of surviving multiple freeze/thaw cycles, but AXIB II buoys thus far have been the only buoys robust enough to survive multiple seasons in the harsh Arctic environment, making them the most cost-effective option.

Considering the limited opportunities to deploy buoys in the high Arctic, robust and survivable buoys are necessary to meet the objectives of maritime Arctic domain awareness.

LBI Inc. holds the patent on AXIB II buoys. All AXIB II buoy specifications meet the requirements of the USIABP to support the Naval Ice Center’s mission in the sparse sensing environment of the polar regions. Buoys deployed in the Arctic must be capable of surviving the harsh physical environment and also need to measure air temperatures of -40oC. LBI, Inc. has established practices manufacturing buoys to survive such low temperatures.

LBI’s Air deployable AXIB II Buoys are also certified to be deployed via U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard C- 130’s which allows full flexibility to deploy buoys in Arctic regions that have data gaps (no reporting buoys) in locations unreachable via ship.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many Offerors as Practicable, including a Description of Market Research, if applicable, and a List of Interested Sources, if any.

In accordance with DFARS 206.302-2, a Sources Sought Notice was posted to sam.gov on 20 August 2025, which closed on 25 August 2025 with 0 (zero) responses received. As such, in accordance with FAR 6.301-2, LBI, Inc.

remains the only source capable of satisfying the requiring agencies minimum requirements.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost.

The Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government of the supplies covered by this Justification will be fair and reasonable.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition.

The contracting activity reviewed the previous Sole Source Justification from FY24. No actions to assess the emergence of new potential sources was required. However. As discussed in Paragraph 6, the contracting activity issued a Sources Sought Notice for the current requirement and no potential sources were found that satisfy the minimum needs of the requirement. For the reasons set forth in Paragraph 5, NAVSUP FLC Norfolk has no plans at this time to compete future contracts for the types of supplies covered by this document. If another potential source emerges, NAVSUP FLC Norfolk will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible.

9. Contracting Point of Contact.

The point of contact at NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk is Seth Harrell who may be contacted at 771-229- 3555 or by email at Robert.s.harrell15.civ@us.navy.mil.