Cardinal Point Captains, Inc.

Cardinal Point Captains, Inc., a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and Veteran-Owned Small Business headquartered in San Diego, California, operates as a prime contractor delivering specialized maritime and oceanographic support services to federal agencies, primarily the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The company holds dual SBA certifications expiring June 15, 2028, and competes across a mix of set-asides—Total Small Business, SDVOSB, and full-and-open procurements—with the overwhelming majority of work as prime (99% of recent awards).

Cardinal Point Captains' capability footprint spans vessel operations, dive services, marine engineering, field research support, and specialized maritime equipment procurement. The company supplies diving program supplies, dive center services and facilities, vessel chartering and crew services, oceanographic research support, and technical consultation for NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries system and other federal ocean-related missions. Representative work includes a $49.9 million single-award VFROSS (Vessel and Field Research Operations Support Services) IDIQ with NOAA's National Ocean Service and Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (awarded June 24, 2024, through June 23, 2029) supporting vessel and field research operations across the national sanctuary system; a $37.3 million definitive contract with EPA Region 5 (awarded February 14, 2024) for operation and maintenance support of research vessels; a $5.3 million single-award dive center services IDIQ with NOAA (awarded September 20, 2024, through September 19, 2029); a $7.7 million single-award dive center supplies IDIQ with NOAA (awarded September 20, 2024, through September 19, 2029); and a $40.9 million single-award STRIDENT production units IDV with Naval Sea Systems Command (awarded September 29, 2023, through September 28, 2029) for diver navigation systems and engineering support.

Customer concentration is extreme: NOAA accounts for approximately 99% of all prime awards (242 of 242 identified customers) and $19.21 billion of the combined potential value ($19.33 billion portfolio ceiling). The next-largest customers—Naval Sea Systems Command, EPA Region 5, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management—together represent less than 1% of the portfolio value. This concentration reflects Cardinal Point Captains' positioning as NOAA's anchor partner for marine sanctuary operations and diving support services nationwide.

The company holds positions on multiple NOAA vehicles: the $49.9 million VFROSS single-award IDIQ (generating 25 active task orders worth $40.9 million); two NOAA dive-center IDIQs totaling approximately $13 million; the $8 billion ProTech 2.0 Oceans Domain multiple-award vehicle (April 29, 2024, through April 29, 2029) on which the company has issued five task orders worth approximately $14.4 million cumulatively; and the $8 billion ProTech 2.0 Fisheries Domain multiple-award vehicle (March 29, 2024, through September 23, 2029). Additionally, the company holds a $40.9 million Naval Sea Systems Command contract for STRIDENT production and a $37.3 million EPA Region 5 vessel operations contract. The top IDV by task-order count is NOAA's IDIQ 1305M318DNCND0002 (82 task orders, $36.2 million combined potential value), followed by IDIQ DOCAB133C14CQ0059 (68 task orders, $10.2 million).

Activity has grown sharply: from 14 awards in 2022 to 32 in 2024, with 20 in 2025 and 3 in 2026 (year-to-date through late June). The recompete cliff over the next twenty-four months totals six awards with combined potential value of $14.8 million, representing limited near-term recompete exposure relative to the overall portfolio.

SCI-reported invoicing grew from $5.3 million in FY2022 to $10.8 million in FY2024 across 35.2 to 55.9 FTEs respectively. Government-paid median hourly rates on federal services contracts run around $80.52/hr, with senior labor pricing reaching the 90th percentile of $138.58/hr. The company self-performs substantially all reported work—subcontractors averaged only 1% of total contractor hours on prime contracts, with one named subcontractor identified in the SCI dataset. On recent large task orders under VFROSS and ProTech vehicles, Cardinal Point Captains has achieved self-performance rates of 100% or near-total. The company acts as a subcontractor in a marginal capacity: a November 2024 sub-award from Atlantic Diving Supply and an April 2025 research SME sub-award from HII Mission Technologies Corp represent minimal sub-engagement relative to prime volume.

Place of performance spans nationwide NOAA National Marine Sanctuary locations (the Channel Islands, Florida Keys, Olympic Coast, Thunder Bay, Flower Garden Banks, Gray's Reef, Stellwagen Bank, Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast, Monterey Bay, Cordell Bank, Greater Farallones, and others), plus San Diego headquarters; Galveston, Texas; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Panama City, Florida for Navy STRIDENT work. The vendor's core positioning is as NOAA's specialized maritime services provider, with supplementary defense and civilian agency work anchoring diversification at the margins.