Market Research and Sources Sought Notice - dredging for the Mobile District U. S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Mobile Harbor Deepening project in Mobile, AL.

Market Research and Sources Sought Notice for information on capability and availability of potential contractors to perform “maintenance” and “new work” dredging for the Mobile District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Mobile Harbor Deepening project in Mobile, AL.

This is a SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS and is not a solicitation announcement.   The purpose of this Market Research and Sources Sought Notice is to gain knowledge of potential qualified Small Business firms who own dredges of the sizes/types specified below.  Responses to this Sources Sought Synopsis will be used by the government in making appropriate acquisition decisions.   The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to utilize a phased approach to complete the project and award six procurements over the next three fiscal years (2020-2023).  These future requirements for dredging equipment will be for different categories of dredges as described below.

Phase 1 will consist of the Mobile Bar Entrance Channel and will require  a trailing suction hopper dredge with a minimum hopper capacity of 3,600 cubic yards or an ocean certified  hydraulic cutterhead dredge.  The Corps estimates approximately 2.6M cubic yards of material which is comprised of clays, clayey sands, and silty sands. Disposal will be into the Sand Island Beneficial Use Area (SIBUA) and/or the Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site (ODMDS).

Phase 2 will consist of widening a portion of the Mobile Lower Bay Channel and remainder of the Mobile Bar Channel.  The requirement will be for a trailing suction hopper dredge with a minimum hopper capacity of 3,600 cubic yards.  The Corps estimates approximately 6.1M cubic yards.  Material in the southern portion of Phase 2 will be similar to Phase 1; the remaining material is very soft to soft fine grained silts and clays.  Disposal will be into the SIBUA and the ODMDS.

Phases 3 and 4 will consist of the Mobile Bay Channel and will require a trailing suction hopper dredge with a minimum hopper capacity of 3,600 cubic yards or a mechanical dredge capable of dredging to a depth of 54 feet. The Corps estimates 6.1M and 6.0M cubic yards for Phases 3 and 4 respectively. Material is predominately very soft to soft fat clays and silts with some shell and clayey sands.  Disposal will be into the ODMDS. 

Phase 5 will consist of the Mobile Bay and River Channels.  The requirement will be for a hydraulic cutterhead dredge with minimum pump discharge diameter of 24 inches capable of dredging to a depth of 54 feet.  The Corps estimates 4.6M cubic yards of material which is poorly graded fine to coarse sands with varying amounts of silts and clays.  Disposal will be into open water sites adjacent to the channel. Disposal in the open water sites shall not exceed a lift tolerance of 3 feet upon placement.  Pipeline lengths are expect to be between 35,000-70,000 feet and will require the use of booster (auxiliary) pumps. 

Phase 6 will consist of the Upper Mobile Bay Turning Basin and will require a mechanical or hydraulic cutterhead dredge capable of dredging to a depth of 54 feet.  The Corps estimates 2.1M cubic yards of material which is predominantly sandy/coarse grained material. Disposal will require scow offloading into an upland placement site and/or the SIBUA.

All the above requirements must be complete with crew, management staff, and support equipment including pipelines, booster pumps, tugs, and various other floating plants as would normally be expected to support a large dredging operation.

The proposed construction duration for each phase will range from six to 18 months after the Notice to Proceed is issued.  Sources are being sought for firms with a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code of 237990 with a Small Business Size Standard of $30 Million. 

Responses are requested with the following information, which shall not exceed a total of eight pages.  1. Bidder’s name, address, points of contact with telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.  2.  Business size/classification to include any designations as Small Business, HUBZone, Service Disabled Veteran Owned, or 8(a) (Region 4 only) shall be indicated on first page of submission.  3.  Bonding capability: Please provide a letter from your bonding company to support current bonding capability of at least $10 million (aggregate amount for multiple active task orders).  4. Description of capability to perform the proposed dredging, manage subcontractors, prepare and comply with various environmental permits, and capacity to execute this project with other ongoing dredging contracts.  5. Past performance/experience on projects of similar scope, describing no more than five (5) projects that are at least 50% construction complete within the past five years of the issue date of this Notice.  The past performance information should include project title, location, general description of the dredging to demonstrate relevance to the proposed project, the bidder’s role, dollar value of contract, and name of the company, agency or government entity for which the work was performed with contact information (reference name, phone number and e-mail address).   6.  Dredge name and various specifications on the equipment to include: Discharge diameter, suction diameter, year manufactured and/or major overhaul, ladder length, spud lengths, draft, horsepower of main engine and any booster pumps, max/min dredging depths, max/min width of channel the dredge can efficiently operate, hopper capacity (hopper dredge only). 

NO RESPONSES WILL BE ACCEPTED BY FAX OR MAIL. ALL RESPONSES MUST BE E-MAILED to: Sara Logsdon at sara.g.logsdon@usace.army.mil.  Submittals are due no later than 2:00 PM local Mobile, AL time 31 March 2020.  Submittals will not be returned. Telephonic responses will not be honored.  This is not a Request for Proposal, only a Request for Information.  No award will result from this Sources Sought.   This notice does not constitute any commitment by the Government.