Vestdavit, Inc.

Vestdavit, Inc., a Norwegian-owned manufacturer of maritime boat handling systems based in Edmonds, Washington, operates as a prime contractor (90% of recent awards) supplying original equipment manufacturer davits, winches, hooks, and related equipment components to federal maritime agencies — primarily the Department of the Navy and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The company competes predominantly full-and-open, with rare small-business set-asides on select purchase orders.

Vestdavit is a subsidiary of Fairbanks Morse, LLC, a for-profit limited liability company manufacturer also based in the United States. The vendor specializes in davit systems and related maritime equipment used to launch and retrieve small boats from research vessels, naval ships, and Coast Guard platforms. Concrete capability work includes a $541,834 delivery order from NOAA for supplies and parts for NOAA Ship Rainier awarded September 3, 2025, a $253,686 purchase order from Naval Sea Systems Command for technical representative support for vest davit systems in Japan awarded January 4, 2022, and a $199,313 delivery order from NOAA for OEM vestdavit procurement and installation for the Thomas Jefferson's port HSL davit awarded September 8, 2023. Additional representative work spans hydraulic repairs, annual davit inspections, controller troubleshooting and repair, replacement parts supply, and system groom services across NOAA's research vessel fleet and U.S. Navy combatants.

Customer concentration splits between two agencies representing 98% of combined potential value. NOAA (Department of Commerce) leads by award count at 54 awards valued at $5.7 million combined potential value, reflecting sustained small-task delivery orders for routine maintenance and parts across NOAA's hydrographic and oceanographic research vessels — NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson, Rainier, Fairweather, and Ferdinand Hassler dominate this portfolio. Naval Sea Systems Command ranks second at 32 awards valued at $6.4 million, anchored by a single-award indefinite delivery contract valued at $5.08 million for OEM davit rescue boat repair on LCS Freedom-class ships and numerous follow-on delivery orders. Military Sealift Command, US Fleet Forces Command (Atlantic), Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, and the U.S. Coast Guard round out the active set, each contributing single-digit award counts. The two customer rankings diverge moderately — NAVSEA's higher dollar concentration reflects its larger IDC ceiling, while NOAA's higher count reflects frequent small delivery orders.

Vestdavit places the bulk of its work under NOAA's Indefinite Delivery Contract 1305M220DNMAN0074, with 39 task orders carrying $2.5 million in combined potential value. Additional vehicles include Navy Basic Ordering Agreement N0002419G2319 (3 task orders), Navy IDC N0002423D4100 (3 task orders), and several other Navy IDCs with one to two task orders each. The company holds a single-award IDIQ with Naval Sea Systems Command for LCS davit rescue boat repair services running through September 2023, which has been extended or recompeted; the source shows this vehicle has been superseded by task order activity under newer Navy contracts. Recent awards indicate placement against Navy IDCs established in 2021–2024 for emergent availabilities and modernization work.

Award activity has remained stable to declining over the past five years — 21 awards in 2022, 15 in 2023, 18 in 2024, and 11 through April 2026 — representing a slight contraction in award frequency. Only one award faces ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months (combined potential value $51 thousand), indicating minimal near-term recompete exposure; the majority of Vestdavit's NOAA work operates under standing IDIQ vehicles with ongoing task-order authorization rather than discrete contract recompetes.

In its subcontractor role, Vestdavit supplies davit systems, boat davit repairs, and HSL (High Speed Launch) davit components to major Navy shipbuilders and maintenance primes including National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (ESB and T-AO construction), Huntington Ingalls (CVN RCOH modernization), Lockheed Martin (LCS repair and emergent availabilities), Metro Machine Corp. (carrier maintenance), and HII Fleet Support Group (carrier engineering support). Sub-work emphasizes davit repair labor, material, and system groom services on active Navy platforms including USS George H.W. Bush, USS Eisenhower, USS Canley, and LCS variants.

The top NAICS categories reflect equipment repair focus: Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment Repair and Maintenance (44 awards), Overhead Traveling Crane, Hoist, and Monorail System Manufacturing (37 awards), and Ship Building and Repairing (21 awards). Top PSCs align with this profile — Maint/Repair/Rebuild of Ship and Marine Equipment (30 awards), Winches, Hoists, Cranes, and Derricks (10 awards), and Deck Machinery (9 awards). Combined potential value across 120 awards totals $13.6 million, with $6.7 million obligated to date. The vendor's footprint is highly specialized: davit and boat handling systems for maritime research and naval platforms, with no diversification into IT, construction, or professional services. The Norwegian ownership and OEM-exclusive technical relationship with naval and civilian maritime agencies position Vestdavit as a sole-source or near-sole-source supplier for equipment maintenance and repair work rather than a competitive general contractor.