Intent to Negotiate A Sole Source - Oscar Sette

The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has published a Notice of Intent to Negotiate a Sole-Source Contract for a 19-foot Rigid Hull Inflatable (RHI) Boat Center Console small boat for the NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette. The agency intends to negotiate directly with SAFE Boats International, LLC (SBI) under FAR Part 13 for this procurement, which falls under NAICS code 336612 Boat Building with a size standard of 1,000 employees. This is a Total Small Business set-aside opportunity. The sole-source justification is based on SBI's previous manufacture of seven identical boats for NOAA programs in Hawaii between 2003 and 2019. NOAA has developed an extensive parts inventory specifically for these SAFE Boats at their Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center facility, creating significant cost savings and operational efficiencies.

The primary objective of this notice is to inform the contracting community of NOAA's intent to proceed with a sole-source procurement while providing an opportunity for other qualified contractors to express interest. Interested parties may submit capability statements demonstrating their ability to meet the requirements to Contract Specialist Shawn Griscom at Shawn.Griscom@noaa.gov by 2:00 PM EST on August 11, 2025. All contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) with a Unique Entity ID to be eligible for award consideration. The procurement supports NOAA's marine operations, specifically enhancing the capabilities of the NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette. While this is not a formal solicitation, it provides transparency in the procurement process and allows other vendors to potentially compete if they can demonstrate equivalent capabilities. The existing fleet includes five boats operated by the Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center and two by the National Ocean Service Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.