Request for Information: Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) Program

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through its National Weather Service National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), is conducting market research to identify vendor capabilities to support the Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) Program, which collects high-quality marine surface observations to advance maritime safety and support critical weather forecasting operations. Key contract requirements include maintaining a minimum of 2.5 million yearly marine surface observations with 10% annual growth, servicing approximately 2,880 participating vessels, ensuring observation quality metrics such as Atmospheric Pressure Measure Bias less than 1.3 hPa, and implementing planned maintenance schedules per World Meteorological Organization (WMO) best practices. Contractor personnel must possess knowledge of WMO and NOAA/NWS operational procedures, meteorological and oceanographic instruments, maritime industry practices, and international ship protocols, with the ability to operate with minimal oversight across multiple U.S. port locations. Responses to this Request for Information must be submitted electronically by February 20, 2026 at 2:00 PM ET and should not exceed 10 pages in Times New Roman 12-point font in PDF format, with questions due by February 6, 2026 at 2:00 PM ET. Interested vendors should address current program capabilities, recommendations for improvement, regional coverage strategies, and published pricing.

This is a pre-solicitation notice with no set-aside designation, and no incumbent contractor or award value is specified in the market research phase. The VOS Program currently operates approximately 2,880 ships representing 40% of the world's VOS fleet, with three collection processes including automated systems sending data every 15 minutes, hybrid systems sending hourly observations, and manual systems sending observations four times daily. NOAA intends to remain the primary entity responsible for the overall VOS Program while seeking commercial partners to provide support in maintaining and growing the program to ensure long-term viability and address current gaps in wind and wave observations. Port Meteorological Officers operate across existing U.S. locations including New York, Baltimore, Norfolk, Charleston, Jacksonville, Miami, New Orleans, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Anchorage, and Duluth, with plans for expansion to additional locations such as Dutch Harbor, Guam, Boston, and Honolulu. A possible Industry Day may be held after the RFI closes, with announcements posted on SAM.gov.