Inactive

This is a request for information only and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued or awarded. This is not a solicitation. This is not a Reques... This is a request for information only and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued or awarded. This is not a solicitation. This is not a Request for Quote (RFQ), Invitation for Bid (IFB), Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Application (RFA) or announcement of a solicitation, and does not assume the Government will award a contract or proceed with any of the above solicitation efforts in the near future. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect cost or charges by the Government will arise as a result of the submission of information. All information considered proprietary shall be marked accordingly, and properly identified proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with federal regulations. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for improperly identified proprietary information. The purpose of this announcement is solely to gather information from the marketplace, and any responses received will neither be considered an offer by the responding party nor returned to the responding party. No telephone inquiries will be accepted, and requests for solicitation packages will not be honored at this time since no solicitation has been prepared. Synopsis: Sources Sought The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC), Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering (RACE) Division of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is conducting market research for the purpose of identifying businesses that have demonstrated capability to provide a commercial trawl vessel, with experienced crew to conduct stock assessment bottom trawl surveys of groundfish in the Aleutian Islands in 2022 & 2024 and Gulf of Alaska in 2023 & 2025. The vessel will need to be completely rigged for trawling with a stern ramp and gallows or gantry, two net reels each with capacity for one standard, four-seam Poly Nor’Eastern bottom trawl, and be equipped with modern navigation, fish-finding, and communications electronics. The AFSC, RACE Division will provide the trawls, bridles, and trawl doors. The survey areas comprise stations at depths that range from 10 m to 1,000 m (6 fm to 550 fm), requiring the vessel to have split trawl winches with a minimum of 1,463 m (800 fm) of 2.53 cm (1 in) diameter steel core trawl cable in good condition and available for fishing on each drum (not total capacity), but a preference for vessels having 1,830 m (1,000 fm) of 2.53 cm (1 in) diameter steel core trawl cable or more available for fishing on each drum (not total capacity) to ensure complete coverage of the deeper sites in the study areas. An experienced and a Vessel Captain and a four-member fishing crew will be needed to operate the vessel and the fishing gear, while a team of six Government scientists will direct survey operations. The Gulf of Alaska & Aleutian Island surveys spans up to 85 days (55 base charter days and up to 30 optional charter days) and will be conducted from as early as mid-May to late July or mid-August in each year as stated above. Approximately 270 to 310 15-minutes tows will be conducting in the Gulf of Alaska and 210 to 280 15-minute tows will be conducted by the Aleutian Islands.by the survey vessel. Optional charter days (referenced above), if needed are to allow for the full completion of each survey and for related research. Related research includes, but is not limited to: expanded trawl survey stations; collection of auxiliary oceanographic, acoustic or biological samples; experimental gear comparison trials; and deployment of drop camera systems or camera equipped autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) or remotely operated vehicle (ROV) as needed to improve or enhance the delivery estimates of groundfish and crab biomass and population size in support of stock assessments, within the Alaska EEZ. INFORMATION REQUESTED: The Government is requesting that all interested vendors provide information regarding their experience and capability to provide a qualified crew and eligible vessel. A vessel data sheet or the attached Trawl Vessel Characteristic Form may be submitted to address the minimum requirements. NOAA may utilize the responses to this Sources Sought to conduct additional market research. Information obtained from this Sources Sought, and the subsequent communication with the vendors, if any, may be utilized to assist NOAA in developing a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Quote (RFQ). In addition to addressing technical capabilities, responses must include the following: Name and address of firm Size of business (e.g. small, small disadvantaged business, woman owned, etc.) Average annual revenue for the past 3 years and number of employees Ownership Number of years in business Affiliate information Parent company, joint venture partners, potential teaming partners, prime contractor (if potential subcontractor) or subcontractors (if potential prime contractor) Point of contact - address and phone number SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS: Telephone responses are NOT solicited and will not be accepted. No solicitation exists at this time. This synopsis is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to award a contract, nor will the Government pay for the solicited information. Please submit your response to the attention of the Contracting Officer, Ms. Mona Ash (Mona.M.Ash@noaa.gov) no later than June 21, 2021 at 9:00 a.m., Pacific time. Each response shall be no more than 15 single-sided, single-spaced pages (excluding the cover page), and each page shall be separately numbered, and shall be in .pdf format. (End of Document)