Ships Services Inc.

Ships Services Inc., a small business based in Coden, Alabama, provides chartered vessel and crew services for oceanographic research and marine survey operations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a prime contractor under total small business set-asides, with one subcontract engagement supporting Navy maritime systems.

Ships Services operates almost exclusively as a prime on small-dollar research vessels and crew charters. Four of five awards are direct NOAA contracts, representing 100% of the combined potential value ($1.5 million) in the source data. The vendor has executed purchase orders for vessel charter and crew support for Gulf of Mexico fisheries surveys, coral reef program operations, and specialized survey work including video array deployment, eDNA sampling, sidescan mapping, and camera deployments at depth. Recent representative work includes a $1.188 million total small business set-aside purchase order awarded June 1, 2026, to charter a U.S. Coast Guard-inspected vessel of at least 50 feet, staffed with two licensed captains holding minimum three years' offshore experience, operating from Pascagoula, Mississippi, in support of NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center Gulf Fishery-Independent Survey of Habitat and Ecosystem Resources (G-FISHER) program through May 31, 2029; a $109,340 award from April 4, 2024, for vessel and crew services to deploy video arrays, conduct eDNA sampling, and perform sidescan sonar mapping in the Gulf of Mexico; and a $102,340 award from May 4, 2023, for vessel and crew supporting 14 consecutive days of video array deployment and sidescan mapping operations off Panama City Beach, Florida. A fifth award of $98,400 from August 14, 2025, was issued for a contracted vessel serving NOAA's Coral Reef Program and carried no set-aside designation. Activity has remained modest and regular—one award per year in 2023, 2024, and 2025, stepping to two awards in 2026—with combined dollars obligated at $617 thousand (41% of potential value). One subcontract from February 10, 2026, places Ships Services as a subcontractor to Serco Inc. on service work for an unspecified Navy Maritime Systems Support vehicle. The vendor's capability footprint maps to NAICS codes for coastal and great lakes passenger transportation and water transportation support services, anchored to NOAA's oceanographic research mission.

Tyson B is a versatile work platform with her crane and good station keeping ability. She is a great asset to military testing, oil field supply and a multi faceted dive vessel. We have a USCG certified crane and A-frame onboard.