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This is a Sources Sought notice for vessel to support remote field camp deployment and recovery in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A SOLICITATION AND IS BEING USED FOR THE ... This is a Sources Sought notice for vessel to support remote field camp deployment and recovery in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A SOLICITATION AND IS BEING USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF MARKET RESEARCH ONLY. The Government is issuing this Sources Sought to determine if there exists an adequate number of interested and qualified contractors capable of performing the requirement as further described. The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to gain knowledge of qualified, potential contractors and their socio-economic size classification in accordance with NAICS code 483112, Deep Sea Passenger Transportation, with a size standard of 1,500 employees. If a solicitation is generated by the Government from this notice, the Government reserves the right to use all of the information, use none of the information, or change all or part of the information contained herein. This notice is being published in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 5.101 requiring dissemination of information for proposed contract actions and FAR 10.001(a)(2)(ii) which requires conducting market research before soliciting offers for acquisitions with an estimated value in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold. The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) is requiring a contractor to provide a vessel that will support protected species field camp deployment, recovery, and ancillary operations in the Papah?naumoku?kea Marine National Monument (PMNM) in the Northwest Hawaiian Hawaiian Islands. Field camp support includes transporting personnel, supplies, scientific materials, and marine debris to and from remote islands and transferring them on and off the island via small boat. Additional ancillary scientific activities may be conducted in conjunction with these activities in a manner not to interfere with the vessel’s primary mission. Planned trips will require one to two (1-2) trips not to exceed a total of 56 days at sea (DAS) along with four to six (4-6) days per trip to mobilize and demobilize and up to 14 days of required shelter in place (SIP) per trip for all seagoing personnel immediately prior to departure. Each trip may also involve multiple legs with short returns to Honolulu to pick up and/or drop off gear and/or personnel. If two trips are performed, the deployment trip will be in the May-June time period and recovery trip will be in the August-September time period with dates to-be-determined by the Government in consultation with the contractor. If one trip is performed it may fall anywhere in the time period of July - September. The length of trips and itineraries will be dependent on the berthing capabilities of the selected vessel as well as operational needs as decided by the chief scientist. Charter operations will begin and end at the Inouye Regional Center (IRC) in Pearl Harbor, Ford Island, Honolulu, Hawaii, and the majority of the work, including field camp support will be conducted in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) and in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), within the boundaries of the PMNM. At the discretion of the Government, an in-port at Midway Atoll may be incorporated into the operational plan for the purposes of scientific surveys, personnel transfer, fuel and supply restocking. The furthest work site is expected to be Kure Atoll, located approximately 1,200 nautical miles (NM) from Honolulu, Hawaii. Minimum vessel requirements include, but are not limited to: Must be suitable for distant open-ocean work with sufficient fuel, sewage treatment, water, food stores and must meet all permitting requirements to transit and operate in the Papah?naumoku?kea Marine National Monument (PMNM); Must be able to maintain a minimum cruising speed of 8 knots in sea state 6 (sustained winds of 21 to 26 knots with 9 to 12 feet seas); Sufficient fuel capacity and reserves to accommodate 30 days of continuous operations; Sufficient endurance to depart Honolulu, conduct a minimum of 30 days of operations at sites as far away as Kure Atoll without resupply, and safely return to Honolulu; At least one compressed air hose near the on-deck work area, capable of 125 psi; Equipped with a crane that meets ABS standards for loading and offloading scientific equipment and supplies up to 1,000 lbs. per load; Able to carry, launch and recover at least 5 small boats up to 19 ft. LOA and 4,000 lbs. each with attached outboard motors; At least 800 sq. ft. for small boats, motors, scientific gear and accessories; Dry storage area of at least 300 cu ft. in the interior of the vessel for holding scientific equipment, electronics, and other items; Minimum of 20 cu ft. of freezer storage, exclusive of space for ship's stores, to stow scientific samples and supplies that may contain hazardous chemicals and an additional 300 cu ft. of freezer storage to store frozen food for field deployment and frozen fish for seal food; Clean and sanitary berthing accommodations and steward services for a minimum of twelve (12) male and female Government personnel; Potable fresh water supply for vessel and personal use (including showers and laundry) for all personnel aboard for the duration of the charter as well as for filling up to 200 6-gallon water jugs per day (1,200 gallons) for field deployment; Minimum of two heads and two freshwater showers available to Government personnel; Functioning washer and dryer for Government personnel laundry use; Ability to safely store a minimum of 1,500 gallons of unleaded gasoline and transport to field camps in designated storage containers; and Two (2) functioning small boats (such as a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB), safeboat, landing craft, or similar) for transferring gear, equipment, and personnel between the vessel and the islands and appropriately trained and experience personnel to operate, launch and recover the small boats. A captain, appropriately licensed by the USCG for the gross tonnage of the vessel with experience launching and recovering small boats, approaching islands, navigating unmarked channels, and operating in the near shore environment. Adequate crew to meet USCG safe manning levels and skilled individuals on the vessel capable of crane operations and line handling for launch and recovery of all small boats and cargo. The contractor shall also provide appropriate numbers of crew to operate at least two of the vessel’s small boats simultaneously to move gear and equipment between the vessel and the islands. It is anticipated that any resultant contract will be firm-fixed-price. The period of performance is planned for approximately April 1, 2021 through October 31, 2021. Responses to this notice are due to Contracting Officer, Crystina Jubie via email at Crystina.R.Jubie@noaa.gov no later than Monday, December 28, 2020 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time. Duns Number andCage code are requested with your submission. Registration in the System for Award Management, www.sam.gov, is not necessary to respond to this notice. If the information in this notice leads to a Solicitation, registration in the System for Award Management will be a requirement for doing business with and entering into a contract with the Government. All questions of any nature regarding this procurement should be sent in writing to the Contracting Officer, Crystina Jubie at Crystina.R.Jubie@noaa.gov. If appropriate, an amendment will be posted to provide relevant questions and answers to all interested vendors. Perspective firms are encouraged to check the beta.sam.gov website at https://beta.sam.gov for any amendments to this notice. This notice is being issued under NAICS 483112. All interested prospective firms are invited to respond. A determination from this notice may lead to a small business set aside in accordance with FAR Part 19 if this notice results in a future solicitation. All Prospective firms who respond to this request will be contacted if/when a solicitation is posted to https://beta.sam.gov. Prospective firms should notify this office of their interest in this notice by submitting a Capabilities Statement which should include their company size and provide descriptive literature or other documentation, in addition to the following information: 1) A statement that you believe that your firm has the capability to meet the requirements and perform the requirements outlined in this notice supplemented by information that demonstrates this capability. 2) Your firm's DUNS number and CAGE code; 3) Your firm's SBA certified small business concern status. Specifically identify if your firm is HUBZone-certified, Service Disabled Veteran Owned, or SBA 8(a) program certified; 4) A brief description of your firm's recent past experience (within past 3 years) performing relevant similar services. The information provided in response to this announcement is limited to ten (10) pages or less. All information received in response to this notice shall be treated as Business Sensitive or confidential to the responder, exempt from public release under the Freedom of Information Act. All information shall be provided free of charge to the Government. This notice is NOT a request for proposal. The purpose of this announcement is to gather information from the market place and any responses received will not be considered an Offer by the responding party and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. No telephone inquiries will be accepted and requests for solicitation packages will not be granted, as no solicitation has been prepared at this time. Please note this is NOT a request to be placed on a solicitation mailing list nor is it a request for quote or proposal or an announcement of a solicitation. The Government will not pay for any material provided in response to this notice nor return the data provided. The results of this sources sought will be considered to be in effect for a period of one year from the date of this notice.