Commercial Diving Services

The City of St. Pete Beach is issuing a Request for Bid (RFB) for commercial diving services to secure a qualified, full-service contractor capable of providing comprehensive cleaning, inspection, repair, and maintenance services for marine infrastructure throughout the municipality. The procurement encompasses services for tide check valves, stormwater outfalls, manatee grates, subaqueous pipelines, piers, piles, and bulkheads, with the City maintaining 35 tide check valves and 25 manatee grates requiring regular maintenance. Deliverables include debris removal, marine growth removal, manatee grate maintenance, written and video condition reports, and repair or replacement of tidal check valves performed on a quarterly or as-needed basis. The contractor must furnish all labor, equipment, materials, and supplies, including a qualified dive team, work boat or barge, hydraulic units, submersible pumps, water blasters, and digital underwater cameras with video capture capability. The contract term is three years from execution with two optional one-year extensions available by mutual agreement. Critical deadlines include an optional pre-bid meeting on March 18, 2026 at 9:30 AM EST via Microsoft Teams, a written questions deadline of March 25, 2026 at 10:00 AM EST, and sealed bid submission via Bonfire due April 8, 2026 at 9:00 AM EST with bid opening at 9:30 AM EST. All work must comply with OSHA diving regulations, Florida environmental guidelines, and the City's MS4 NPDES Permit requirements.

The RFB document does not specify set-aside designations, disadvantaged enterprise restrictions, or incumbent contractor information. Bid pricing is structured on a pay-item basis with line items for three-person dive team labor (scheduled, overtime, and unscheduled), additional divers, reports, emergency call-out fees, mobilization and demobilization, equipment rental, and materials, though specific budget ranges or award values are not disclosed in the available documentation. The contractor must maintain commercial general liability insurance of $1,000,000, comprehensive general liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence, personal injury coverage of $1,000,000 per occurrence, automobile liability of $1,000,000, workers' compensation insurance as required by Florida law, and Longshore Harbor Workers' Compensation Insurance, with no performance bond required. Payment terms provide for monthly reimbursement at 95 percent of completed work value with 5 percent retained until final completion, and liquidated damages of $500 per day apply for delays. The City will furnish site access, coordinate activities, procure tide check valves as needed, and provide permits if required, while the contractor must maintain 24-hour emergency response capability and provide 72 hours' notice for scheduling changes.