20--Request for Information Regarding Open Ocean Dead Ship Towing of MARAD Non-retention Vessels.

Sources Sought Regarding the Ability to Conduct Open Ocean, Dead Ship Tows of Maritime Administration Non-Retention Vessels to Recycling Facilities DescriptionThe Maritime Administration (MARAD) Office of Ship Disposal (OSD) is soliciting potential Sources to Accomplish Open Ocean Dead Ship Tows of Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet Non-Retention Vessels from San Francisco Bay California to Facilities Located in Texas and Louisiana for Recycling IntroductionThe MARAD Office of Ship Disposal awards contracts to qualified domestic recycling facilities for the disposal of obsolete, non-retention ships located at MARAD's Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet (SBRF). The non-retention ships have no operational systems and are not capable of operating under their own power. OSD seeks information from companies having the interest, resources and capability to safely tow obsolete merchant-type vessels in a dead ship condition from the San Francisco Bay area of California via the Panama Canal to one of a number of facilities in the states of Texas and Louisiana. Background The OSD anticipates the award of contracts to qualified domestic facilities for the disposal (recycling) of several obsolete SBRF ships on an annual basis. Currently there are no operational ship recycling facilities on the West Coast. The nearest operational recycling facilities are located in Texas necessitating a 5,000+ nautical mile open ocean tow from the San Francisco Bay area in California through the Panama Canal for delivery of the obsolete ships to domestic facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. The ships selected for disposal will undergo tow preparations by San Francisco Bay industrial activities through separate contract actions and in advance of scheduled tows. Description of Information Requested The purpose of this announcement is to solicit interest, information and input from companies with proven resources and expertise to safely accomplish open ocean tows of obsolete U.S. Government owned merchant-type ships of various sizes and designs. It is anticipated that a Request for Proposal or Invitation for Bid will be posted in March 2009. Sources responding to this announcement are expected to address:1. Experience in dead-ship towing in U.S. domestic and international waters including transits of the Panama Canal;2. Towing resources available to tow merchant-type of various size and design between 1,500 and 25,000 gross tons; 3. Capability, including limitations, to accomplish single and tandem tows;4. A rough order of magnitude cost and estimated time for the single and tandem tow of nominal C3-S-37c breakbulk ships; LOA 495 ft; Beam 69 ft; Light Ship Draft 12 ft; Design Displacement 16,860 LT; Light Ship 5,880 LT from San Francisco Bay California via the Panama Canal to the following Gulf of Mexico ports:" Brownsville, TX" Beaumont, TX" New Orleans, LA. DisclaimerIt is not the Maritime Administration's intent to publicly disclose vendor proprietary information obtained during this solicitation. To the full extent that it is protected pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and other laws and regulations, information identified by a respondent as "Proprietary or Confidential" will be kept confidential. It is emphasized that this announcement is for planning and information purposes only and is NOT to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contractual agreement, nor will the Government pay for information solicited. How to RespondResponses are requested not later than 4:00 PM Eastern time February 18, 2009. Please submit your responses electronically (in pdf) to [email protected]. Submissions should not exceed ten pages in length. Point of Contact Name: John Desch Title: Maritime Administration Contracting Officer Phone: 202-366-4356 Fax: 202-366-3237 Email: [email protected]