Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Kingdom of Bahrain S&RTS
Department of Defense · U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM)
More open USTRANSCOM contracts
AI summaryThe U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) contracting office, for the U.S. Army Transportation Command (ARTRANS), wants stevedoring and related terminal services (S&RTS: loading, unloading and handling U.S. Government cargo) at ports and bases in the Kingdom of Bahrain, solicitation HTC71127QE127 (listed on SAM.gov earlier as HTC71126QE170). It is an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ: orders placed as needs arise) contract at firm-fixed-price (FFP: set price) rates. The ordering period is five years from July 6, 2027, with a six-month extension option. No set-aside is used. Award goes to the lowest-priced quote with an acceptable technical submission. The response due date is November 13, 2026, 12:00 PM Central. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
Summary of the version posted Oct 23, 2026. The notice was amended Oct 27, 2026. Check what else changed on SAM.gov. This summary may miss requirements: 2 of 8 attachments weren't read (Attachment 4 - RFQ Information and General Compliance Worksheet_Bahrain.xlsx, Attachment 2 - Schedule of Rates (SOR)_Bahrain.xlsx). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) contracting office, for the U.S. Army Transportation Command (ARTRANS), wants stevedoring and related terminal services (S&RTS: loading, unloading and handling U.S. Government cargo) at ports and bases in the Kingdom of Bahrain, solicitation HTC71127QE127 (listed on SAM.gov earlier as HTC71126QE170). It is an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ: orders placed as needs arise) contract at firm-fixed-price (FFP: set price) rates. The ordering period is five years from July 6, 2027, with a six-month extension option. No set-aside is used. Award goes to the lowest-priced quote with an acceptable technical submission. The response due date is November 13, 2026, 12:00 PM Central.
Who can bid (6)
- Active SAM registration when quoting and at award, including NAICS 488320 Marine Cargo Handling
- Proof of a valid, current host-nation business license or work permit for the prime and any subcontractors, covering every named port
- Proof of current hazardous materials certification, or a signed letter, for at least two proposed personnel (49 CFR 172.702 or the host-nation equivalent)
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- A Mission Essential Plan of no more than 5 pages for keeping essential services running in a crisis
- Current Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) status at Level 1 (Self) or higher for systems handling federal contract information or controlled unclassified information
- All employees hold a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) or the host-nation equivalent
How to submit: Email to Cassandra Range (cassandra.a.range.civ@mail.mil) and Casey Schuette (casey.d.schuette.civ@mail.mil). Each email must be under 20 MB; label split emails "1 of 2", "2 of 2".. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (13)
- Serious: Host-nation business license or work permit required with the quote. A U.S. firm without a Bahrain license or permit for every named port, or a local partner that has one, may be rated Unacceptable.
- Serious: Around-the-clock operations with contractor-supplied equipment. The contractor supplies all labor, cargo-handling equipment, ramps up to 70 tons and heavy tow equipment, and must run every port all day, every day.
- Serious: Explosives and hazardous materials handling. Cargo includes ammunition, explosives and all classes of hazardous materials, so trained, certified personnel are needed.
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- Worth checking: Quote receipt is checked one working day before the deadline. The Government checks receipt at 5:00 p.m. one working day before the deadline, so the effective cutoff is earlier than the stated time.
- Worth checking: Lowest price wins among acceptable quotes. The lowest-priced quote is checked first, and an incomplete Schedule of Rates is treated as incomplete, so pricing must be exact.
- Worth checking: Incomplete technical documents can end the quote. Any Unacceptable answer, missing answer or missing attachment can make the whole quote ineligible.
- Worth checking: Very small guaranteed minimum. Only $2,500.00 is guaranteed in the first 12 months; all other work depends on orders the Government chooses to place.
- Worth checking: Local labor law and union agreements. The contract includes the overseas local labor law clause, and the contractor must file its current collective bargaining agreement and port tariffs within 2 calendar days of award.
- Worth checking: Plans and documents due within days of award. Safety, emergency response and spill plans are due 5 calendar days after award, and license copies and union agreements 2 calendar days after award.
- Worth checking: Spill and cleanup liability. The contractor pays for cleanup and property damage from spills or leaks caused by its negligence or equipment.
- Worth checking: Cybersecurity compliance. The contractor must hold a current CMMC status and give a NIST SP 800-171 self-assessment and plan of action within 60 calendar days of award.
- Minor: Prices in U.S. dollars, with host-nation taxes left out. Prices are exclusive of taxes and duties the U.S. Government is exempt from, and the offeror must list the excluded taxes.
- Minor: Solicitation number changed. The number moved from HTC71126QE170 to HTC71127QE127; the Mission Essential Plan and Technical Worksheet still show HTC71126QE170.
Read from the notice and 6 attachments. 2 of 8 not read. Show which files.
- Solicitation - HTC71127QE127.pdf (read)
- Amendment HTC71127QE1270001.pdf (read)
- Attachment 1 - Performance Work Statement (PWS)_Bahrain.pdf (read)
- Source Selection Notice Memo_Bahrain.pdf (read)
- Attachment 3 - Mission Essential Plan_Bahrain.docx (read)
- Attachment 5 - Technical Worksheet_Bahrain.docx (read)
- Attachment 4 - RFQ Information and General Compliance Worksheet_Bahrain.xlsx: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- Attachment 2 - Schedule of Rates (SOR)_Bahrain.xlsx: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Load and discharge ships, trucks and aircraft cargo for the U.S. Government: containers, vehicles, breakbulk (loose, non-containerized cargo), ammunition and explosives, and hazardous materials
- Receive, stage, store and move cargo between port areas, and onward by Common-User Land Transportation (CULT: shared commercial trucking) or military convoy
- Tally and check cargo, keep cargo accountability records, check door seals and report discrepancies
- Work at each port 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, on several vessels at once. The contractor supplies all equipment, labor and supervision.
- Run a safety program: a site-specific safety plan for each seaport, an emergency response plan, a spill plan, and an environmental compliance officer for hazardous materials
- Meet cybersecurity rules (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) and NIST SP 800-171 self-assessment) and personnel screening rules
- Submit a plan to keep essential services running during a crisis for up to 30 days
- Bill at the commodity rates in the Schedule of Rates (SOR)
- Contract type
- Indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ); firm-fixed-price, paid at Schedule of Rates commodity rates; request for quotation under FAR Parts 12 and 13.5
- Period of performance
- 5-year ordering period, July 6, 2027 through July 5, 2032, plus a six-month extension (July 6, 2032 through January 5, 2033) under FAR 52.217-8
- Place of performance
- Kingdom of Bahrain: Mina Salman Port, Khalifa Bin Salman Port, ASRY Dry Dock, Naval Support Activity (NSA1), Mina Salman Naval Base (NSA2), Shaikh Isa Air Base, Aviation Unit (NSA3), Riffa Air Base and other designated locations
- Estimated value
- Minimum guarantee of $2,500.00 in the first 12 months. The ceiling is the total contract award amount plus 25%; no dollar estimate is given.
- How they'll choose
- Lowest evaluated price among quotes whose technical submission is rated Acceptable; the lowest-priced quote is checked first, then price fairness and responsibility (FAR 13.5 simplified procedures)
- Offers due
- November 13, 2026, 12:00 PM Central (from the version posted Oct 23, 2026; amended since)
- How to submit
- Email to Cassandra Range (cassandra.a.range.civ@mail.mil) and Casey Schuette (casey.d.schuette.civ@mail.mil). Each email must be under 20 MB; label split emails "1 of 2", "2 of 2".
- Page limits
- Technical Worksheet: 20 pages. Mission Essential Plan: 5 pages. Part I contract documents: no limit.
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical Proposal: Technical Worksheet (labor, equipment, certifications and port access) and Mission Essential Plan, each rated Acceptable or Unacceptable
- Price Quote on the Schedule of Rates: rated Fair and Reasonable or Not Fair and Reasonable
What to include when you submit
- Send three parts: Part I contract documents, Part II technical submission, Part III price quote
- Part I: the RFQ Information and General Compliance Worksheet (Attachment 4)
- Part I: Standard Form 1449 (SF 1449: the form you sign as your offer) blocks 12, 17a, 30a, 30b and 30c, and 17b only if your remittance address differs
- Part I: acknowledge each amendment on SF 30 blocks 8, 15A and 15B
- Part I: include representations and certifications that are not in your SAM record (FAR 52.209-7, 52.219-4, 52.222-56, 52.229-11, DFARS 252.204-7017 and 252.229-7001)
- Part II: the Technical Worksheet (Attachment 5) and the Mission Essential Plan (Attachment 3)
- Technical Worksheet: include proof of two hazardous materials trained personnel and a host-nation business license or work permit
- These proofs, equipment photos and signed letters do not count toward the 20-page limit
- Part III: fill every yellow unit price cell in the Schedule of Rates (Attachment 2) in Excel (.xlsx); enter $0.00 for a free item; use U.S. dollars with two decimal places
- Part III: enter an annual inflation rate for each year and for the six-month extension
- Part III: give a breakdown of gang, other labor and equipment costs behind the commodity rates, and of the manhour rates, with how you built them
- Part III: give recent purchase prices paid by commercial customers for the same or similar services
- Send documents in English and PDF; add a third-party English translation of any foreign-language document and a signed letter on company letterhead explaining irregularities
- Use Times New Roman 12-point, letter-size, single-sided pages; pages over the limit are not read
- Quotes must stay valid for at least 180 calendar days
- Send questions in writing to both email addresses no later than 10 calendar days before the close date; do not call
- To be on time, the quote should reach the Government by 5:00 p.m. one working day before the deadline; ask for confirmation of receipt, and if none comes within two business days assume it was not received
After award, you must have
- Port-authority worker identification badges for all contractor personnel From Attachment 1 - Performance Work Statement (PWS)_Bahrain.pdf:
…shall have in their possession, and display…
Not in the notice text
- Parts were left out when read: most of the middle of the Performance Work Statement (contract administration, general and terminal-specific sections, payment and foreign entity vetting appendices). Part of the solicitation form was also left out. Attached but not read: the Schedule of Rates (Attachment 2) and the RFQ Information and General Compliance Worksheet (Attachment 4).
- The rates, cargo volumes and unit quantities are in the Schedule of Rates, which was not read
- No dollar ceiling or estimate of total value is given
- No site visit or pre-quote conference is mentioned in the text that was read
- The notice does not name a current contractor
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to Cassandra Range (cassandra.a.range.civ@mail.mil) and Casey Schuette (casey.d.schuette.civ@mail.mil). Each email must be under 20 MB; label split emails "1 of 2", "2 of 2". Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 27, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Office
- USTRANSCOM-AQ, Scott AFB, IL
- Product/service code
- V114 · Transportation/Travel/Relocation – Transportation: Stevedoring
- Business type
- Transportation, logistics & vehicles (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 488320)
- Versions
3 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 27, 2026 · Amendment 0002 (this version)Due Nov 13, 2026
- Oct 23, 2026 · Amendment 0001Due Nov 13, 2026 (changed)
- Sep 29, 2026 · Combined Synopsis/SolicitationDue Oct 29, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Full notice text from SAM.gov
27 October 2026: P00002 Updated PWS dated 27 October 2026. Post Round 1-3 Q&A's. 23 October 2026: P00001 Extend the due date to 13 November 2026. **Please take note that the solicitation number has been updated to HTC71127QE127 due to overlap in Fiscal Years** The purpose of this requirement is to provide S&RTS in connection with the import and export of designated U.S. Government (USG) cargo throughout the Kingdom of Bahrain. Primary performance locations include Mina Salman Port, Khalifa Bin Salman Port, ASRY Dry Dock, Naval Support Activity (NSA1), Mina Salman Naval Base (NSA2), Shaikh Isa Air Base, Aviation Unit (NSA3), Riffa Air Base and any other designated locations within Kingdom of Bahrain. S&RTS services will cover the full spectrum of managing USG cargo (e.g. containers, vehicles, breakbulk, and rotary or fixed wing aircraft) transiting through the specified port(s) in this contract. Operational tasks shall include but are not limited to stevedoring and long-shoring services required to conduct and facilitate load and discharge of vessel, truck, port reception and disposition, cargo management and preparation, staging, storage, onward movement, intra-port transfers, vessel preparation, documentation, tallying and checking, and storage of dunnage and tiedown materials. Military cargo may consist of vehicles, Ammunition and Explosives (A&E) in all sizes and configurations (containerized or breakbulk), non-explosive containers of all sizes, all classes of Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) (IAW applicable regulations), and other general DoW cargo. Transportation will be facilitated via vessel, Common-User Land Transportation (CULT), and/or military convoy.