360-Day Dry Cargo Time Charter

What they want

• A U.S. or foreign flag general cargo roll-on/roll-off (RORO: vehicles drive on and off) or lift-on/lift-off (LOLO: cargo is craned on and off) ship with at least 40,000 square feet of cargo space
• Port-to-port moves of Marine Corps rolling stock, containers and mission gear in the Western Pacific for about 360 days, with possible hazardous cargo (Divisions 1.1 through 1.4)
• Capability to moor alongside piers and quay walls and handle cargo with the ship's own equipment
• A ship that can load at piers and quay walls with its own ramps or cranes, with maximum laden draft of 6.0 meters, a loaded speed of at least 10 knots, a range of at least 5,000 nautical miles and 21 days without resupply
• Owner arranges loading, securing, stevedoring (dock labor) and fuel, with fuel and port costs reimbursed on receipts
• Meals and stateroom-style berthing for at least two Sponsor (Marine Corps) personnel, with extra supercargo (added Government personnel) at $50 USD per person per day
• Chains, binders, lashing gear and, for crane ships, one spreader bar per crane weight tested to 50,000 lbs
• Delivery and redelivery at Naha, Okinawa or a designated anchorage nearby

What they'll judge offers on

• Technical: the proposed ship is checked against the requirements in Part I, DRYTIME Boxes 1 through 6 (vessel required, delivery and redelivery places, charter period, laydays and added terms); acceptable or not
• Price: charter hire for 360 days plus fuel, using 118 days underway laden, 45 days underway ballast (empty) and 197 days idle in port, with fuel priced at $1,608.88 per metric ton of marine gas oil or marine diesel oil (MGO/MDO)

What to include when you submit

• A valid offer has at least a ship name, a price and a signature; without all three it will not be evaluated.
• Send the offer as a PDF (no JPEG files, no files over 20 megabytes), signed with a verifiable electronic signature or a scanned handwritten signature.
• Complete the DRYTIME charter form boxes (Part I), stressing the INMARSAT number, call letters, IMO number, year and flag of the ship, proposed laydays, VISA status, a contact for contractor performance reports, the daily hire rate and an explanation of any bonuses.
• Provide the ship's itinerary confirming it can meet the laydays (Commencing no later than December 28, 2026, 0800 local; Cancelling January 6, 2027, 1600 local).
• Submit the completed fuel consumption spreadsheet (DRYTIME Boxes 68 through 71).
• Submit a warranty that you acknowledge and will meet every solicitation and charter form requirement, and a statement on how far you agree with all terms.
• Submit responses for items 1A (general ship description), 1B (draft at 975 and at 2,500 short tons), 1D(1) (hazardous cargo), 1D(4) and 1D(5) (ramp and crane details), 1G(4) (medical and sanitation, including the medical facilities and treatment capability) and 5 (laydays and itinerary).
• Send a vessel specification sheet, a general arrangement drawing, pictures of the ship and its interior spaces, and the ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) and U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection, Certificate of Documentation and Load Line Certificate, or equivalent certificates.
• Complete the required representations and certifications, including FAR 52.229-11 (tax on certain foreign procurements) and FAR 52.222-56 (trafficking in persons compliance); several others are satisfied by your SAM registration.
• Small businesses do not need to send a small business subcontracting plan.

Current contractor

No incumbent or earlier contract is named. The RFP says up to two contracts may be awarded.

Not in the notice text

• The cargo list the RFP refers to is not in the files read, and the fuel consumption spreadsheet (27R6015_Fuel_Consumption.xlsx) was attached but not read. The middle of the DRYTIME charter form (DRYTIME 2026 (02-26).pdf, 91,049 of 226,083 characters read, including the rest of Part III through the start of Part VI) was also attached but not read.
• The Government's estimate or budget for the charter is not stated.
• Whether the classified requirement in the charter form applies to this charter, and how to request a review, is not described in the RFP text.
• Currency for offers, host-country licensing or any local-presence requirement in Japan, and host-country labor law are not described in the text read.
• How VISA status will rank offers in this solicitation, and whether the Government will evaluate only U.S. flag vessels, is not stated in the RFP text.
• Whether the Government will exercise the up-to-6-month extension is not stated.