Sources Sought
179-day Tanker Time Charter
Department of Defense · Department of the Navy
AI summarySources sought notice N32205-SS-N351-27-010 (179-day Tanker Time Charter): Military Sealift Command (MSC) Norfolk is surveying the market for one clean-product tanker to carry jet and naval fuel for the Defense Logistics Agency - Energy, delivered at St. Theodore, Greece and redelivered at Piraeus, Greece. A time charter means the Navy rents the ship and crew for a set period. This is a request for information only; replies are not offers. Replies are requested by email, with the response due date given as November 11, 2027 on SAM.gov and November 11, 2026 in the notice text. More in the summary
Market research, not a bid. Replying is free and tells Department of the Navy who could do this work. Send a short reply to the contracting contact; no price is needed. See the contact
AI summary Beta
Sources sought notice N32205-SS-N351-27-010 (179-day Tanker Time Charter): Military Sealift Command (MSC) Norfolk is surveying the market for one clean-product tanker to carry jet and naval fuel for the Defense Logistics Agency - Energy, delivered at St. Theodore, Greece and redelivered at Piraeus, Greece. A time charter means the Navy rents the ship and crew for a set period. This is a request for information only; replies are not offers. Replies are requested by email, with the response due date given as November 11, 2027 on SAM.gov and November 11, 2026 in the notice text.
Who can bid (8)
- Vessel must be a clean, ice-strengthened double-hull tanker with an inert gas system and segregated ballast tanks, U.S. or foreign-flagged
- Vessel age under 20 years for the whole charter; ships that pass 15 years during the charter must be in their classification society's condition assessment program and rated 2 or better
- Size limits: maximum length overall 200 meters, beam 50 meters, deadweight 45,000 MT and displacement 55,000 MT
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- Minimum speed of 13 knots and a crane of at least 10 tons that reaches both port and starboard sides
- Minimum ice class GL-E2, ABS-B0, F-S-1B or equivalent
- Class society certificates must show the vessel is approved to operate in waters off Greenland (Pituffik) under the IMO Polar Code; if reflagged after award, the new certificate is due no later than 90 days after award
- Twin-screw ship, or a bowthruster (a bow propeller used for maneuvering); if one will be installed, give a timeline for completing it before delivery to MSC
- Vessel must burn clean fuels in emission control areas and polar regions; no heavy fuel oil (IFO) allowed on board in polar regions
How to submit: Email to Matthew Price, MATTHEW.R.PRICE40.CIV@US.NAVY.MIL (telephone (564) 230-3782), due November 11, 2027, 11:00 AM Eastern (SAM.gov); the notice text says 1100 hours Eastern Time, 11 November 2026. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (6)
From the version posted Oct 26, 2026.
- Serious: Foreign-flag ship in Greek waters with Greenland polar approvals. Only a ship owner or charterer with a tanker that meets these specialized requirements, including Polar Code certificates for Greenland, can respond; a typical small business without a vessel cannot.
- Worth checking: JP8 laden draft limit differs: 12 meters vs 8.5 meters. Paragraph 8F and 9E give 12 meters for 230,000 BBLS JP8, but the stowage plan wording in 8F says not to exceed 8.5 meters; ask which limit applies.
- Worth checking: JA1 quantity and draft differ: 230,000 BBLS at 11.80 meters vs 235,000 BBLS at 9.80 meters. Paragraph 8G asks for 230,000 BBLS JA1 at a laden draft up to 11.80 meters, while paragraph 9F asks for a stowage plan for 235,000 BBLS at 9.80 meters.
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- Worth checking: Outside the United States: host-country terms not stated. The notice does not say what it requires about a local office, Greek licenses, currency of offers, exchange rates or taxes, so a small business should ask before responding.
- Minor: Paragraph reference mismatch for warranty items. Item 9B(3) refers to minimums in paragraph 1 (L, M, N, O, S), but those items are listed in paragraph 8.
- Minor: Market survey only; no award. Responses are not offers and the Government is not committed to pay costs or to contract.
Read from the notice and 1 attachment. Show which files.
- SS-27-010 Notice.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Price and availability of one clean, double-hull, ice-strengthened tanker with an inert gas system and segregated ballast tanks, for a 179-day charter
- Ship able to carry 230,000 BBLS JA1, 230,000 BBLS JP8 and/or 200,000 BBLS F76 (jet and naval fuels) in separate tanks with double-valve isolation
- Delivery at St. Theodore, Greece and redelivery at Piraeus, Greece; laydays commence February 10, 2027 and cancel February 20, 2027
- Vessel details: Q88 (the standard tanker questionnaire), flag, speed, range, propulsion, cargo capacity and a cargo stowage plan (how the cargo is loaded) showing deadweight tonnage (DWT) and displacement
- Class society (ship inspection body) certificates showing the ship meets the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Polar Code for waters off Greenland (Pituffik)
- Daily charter rate, any positioning fee, and fuel consumption rates (underway in ballast, underway laden, in port working, in port idle)
- Company contact details and small business standing
- Contract type
- Time charter (sources sought market survey; no contract is being awarded)
- Period of performance
- Charter period: 179 days. Laydays commencing 10 FEB 2027, cancelling 20 FEB 2027
- Place of performance
- Greece (SAM.gov: GRC, outside the United States). Intended delivery port: St. Theodore, Greece; intended redelivery port: Piraeus, Greece
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- Offers due
- November 11, 2027, 11:00 AM Eastern (SAM.gov); the notice text says 1100 hours Eastern Time, 11 November 2026
- How to submit
- Email to Matthew Price, MATTHEW.R.PRICE40.CIV@US.NAVY.MIL (telephone (564) 230-3782)
What to include when you submit
- Give company name, telephone number and email address
- State small business standing (small or large business; HUBZone status) and whether you are a small business concern
- Give the vessel name, Q88 and a full description: flag, speed, range, type of propulsion, cargo capacity and stowage plan
- Attach class society certificates noting the ship complies with IMO Polar Code rules for operating in the waters of Greenland
- Send a one-line statement warranting the vessel meets the minimums for items L, M, N, O and S; all other minimums need supporting documentation
- Give the daily charter rate, any positioning fee, and fuel consumption in metric tons (underway in ballast, underway laden, in port working, in port idle)
- Include cargo stowage plans showing the vessel's DWT and displacement for the JP8 and JA1 loads
- Indicate the dates the vessel is available, and list any alternative indications or additional ship features
Not in the notice text
- Which response due date is right: SAM.gov shows November 11, 2027 at 11:00 AM Eastern, and the notice text says 11 November 2026
- Whether the JP8 laden draft limit is 12 meters or 8.5 meters, and whether the JA1 plan is 230,000 BBLS at 11.80 meters or 235,000 BBLS at 9.80 meters
- Contract value, evaluation method and any later solicitation: none is stated in this sources sought
- Requirements for a local office, Greek licenses, currency of offers, exchange rates and taxes are not stated
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside. Any business can reply: this is market research, and no bid is being taken yet.
- To respond, send a short reply to the contracting contact near the top of this page. No price is needed.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 26, 2026
- Notice type
- Sources Sought
- Office
- MSCHQ Norfolk, VA
- Product/service code
- V124 · Transportation/Travel/Relocation – Transportation: Marine Charter
- Business type
- Transportation, logistics & vehicles (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 483111)
- 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
Terms on this notice: Sources sought notice
Full notice text from SAM.gov
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