Sasebo Harbor Pilot Association

Sasebo Harbor Pilot Association, a for-profit international organization based in Sasebo, Japan, provides harbor pilotage and vessel guidance services to the U.S. Department of the Navy as a prime contractor on a full-and-open competitive basis, with no set-aside designation. The vendor operates exclusively in pilotage and port navigation — a specialized maritime service requiring local expertise to safely guide naval and commercial vessels through the complex waterways of Sasebo Harbor and surrounding areas in support of Navy operations in the Indo-Pacific region.

Sasebo Harbor Pilot Association holds a narrow but deep customer footprint entirely within the Department of the Navy. The Navy Installations Command accounts for 272 awards (48% of total prime awards) and $4.5 million in combined potential value, followed by the Military Sealift Command (224 awards, $566 thousand), U.S. Pacific Fleet Forces (51 awards, $107 thousand), and Naval Sea Systems Command (5 awards, $4 thousand). The top two customers anchor 84% of combined potential value; concentration by volume and dollars tracks closely, with no tension between the rankings. The vendor has delivered pilotage services to these Navy customers continuously since at least 2001, with 557 total awards in the source data.

Sasebo Harbor Pilot Association holds three active indefinite delivery contracts under which the vast majority of work is ordered. The largest is IDC N6824615D0002, which carries 262 task orders valued at $794 thousand combined potential value; IDC N6824620D0001 carries 159 task orders valued at $640 thousand; and IDC N6824610D0001 carries 122 task orders valued at $431 thousand. A newer single-award IDC (N6824610D0001, awarded April 25, 2025) carries a $646 thousand ceiling through June 30, 2030. Representative recent delivery orders under these vehicles include a $39.9 thousand firm fixed-price order from Navy Installations Command on November 29, 2025 for Sasebo pilot service with completion by April 15, 2026; a $30 thousand order on March 23, 2026; and a $42.1 thousand order on August 10, 2024. Individual task orders under these IDCs typically range from a few hundred dollars to approximately $42 thousand and cover short-term pilotage support lasting days to several weeks.

Activity was consistently stable at 27–28 awards per year in 2022–2024, declining to 11 awards in 2025 (partial-year snapshot) and 3 awards in 2026 through mid-March. Combined potential value across all 557 awards totals $6.1 million, with $2.2 million (36%) obligated to date. The vendor's award portfolio is categorized almost entirely under NAICS 541512 (Navigational Services to Shipping) and PSC 47 (Navigational Aid and Pilotage). Sasebo Harbor Pilot Association has been the sole pilotage provider for Navy operations at Sasebo Harbor under these IDCs and does not subcontract; the vendor operates as a 100% prime contractor with no recorded sub-award activity.