Sources Sought
US East Coast/Gulf Coast Jones Act Tanker (Extended Term Charter)
Department of Defense · Department of the Navy
AI summaryMilitary Sealift Command (MSC), part of the Navy, is asking companies for information about one U.S. flag Jones Act tanker (a ship allowed to carry cargo between U.S. ports) for a long-term charter (rental of the ship). This is a sources sought, a request for information only, not an offer. Responses are due November 3, 2026, 12:00 PM Eastern, by email. 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
This summary may miss requirements: 1 of 4 attachments weren't read (Attachment (3) - CONSOL Drawings.pdf). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Military Sealift Command (MSC), part of the Navy, is asking companies for information about one U.S. flag Jones Act tanker (a ship allowed to carry cargo between U.S. ports) for a long-term charter (rental of the ship). This is a sources sought, a request for information only, not an offer. Responses are due November 3, 2026, 12:00 PM Eastern, by email.
Who can bid
- A clean, approved, U.S. flag, Jones Act compliant tanker that carries at least 280,000 BBLs and meets the listed particulars
How to submit: Email to Ms. Finley Stoops (finley.a.stoops.civ@us.navy.mil) and Ms. Stephanie Ricker (stephanie.ricker.civ@us.navy.mil). What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (5)
From the version posted Oct 21, 2026.
- Serious: Requires owning or controlling a qualifying U.S. flag tanker. Only a business that owns or can offer a U.S. flag Jones Act tanker of this size can respond; a small business without a vessel cannot take part on its own.
- Worth checking: Sources sought only, not an offer. A response is not an offer and does not commit the Government to a contract, so this notice does not award anything.
- Worth checking: Owner installs and pays for CONSOL stations and fuel delivery station. The ship owner must install three CONSOL stations and a fuel delivery station, which is costly engineering, testing and Navy design review work.
Show all 5Show fewer
- Minor: Stowage plan needed for four fuels. Each fuel needs its own stowage plan proving the ship loads 280,000 BBLs within the draft limit, which takes naval architecture work.
- Minor: Owner crews, trains and equips the ship. The owner handles manning, training and equipping, and MSC offers only basic stream rig training that may not match the installed equipment.
Read from the notice and 3 attachments. 1 of 4 not read. Show which files.
- Revision 1_Sources Sought 27-005 - USEC Jones Act Tanker.pdf (read)
- Attachment (2) - Fuel Delivery Station.pdf (read)
- Attachment (1) CONSOL Station Requirement.pdf (read)
- Attachment (3) - CONSOL Drawings.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- One clean, approved, U.S. flag Jones Act tanker with segregated ballast tanks and an inert gas system, able to carry at least 280,000 barrels (BBLs) of F76, JP5, JP8 or JA1 fuel
- Size limits: laden draft of 12 meters or less, length overall of 182.9 meters or less, beam of 32.31 meters or less, deadweight tonnage of 48,500 MT or less
- At least three cargo segregations with double valve isolation, a 10-ton boom or crane, and a speed of advance of 13 knots or better when loaded
- Three Cargo Operations at Sea (CONSOL: refueling other ships at sea) stations, two starboard and one port, within six months of delivery
- One Fuel Delivery Station (FDS) on the port side no later than one year after contract award
- Delivery at a U.S. Gulf Coast port; redelivery at a U.S. East, Gulf or West Coast port, at the charterer's option
- A stowage plan for each fuel type showing the vessel can load 280,000 BBLs within the 12 meter draft limit, with the vessel's deadweight tonnage (DWT) and displacement
- Company, vessel and pricing information: daily charter rate, fuel use, delivery and redelivery bonus, and costs and time to install the CONSOL stations and the FDS
- Contract type
- Extended term charter (ship rental); this notice is a sources sought request for information only
- Period of performance
- Base year from December 9, 2027 to December 8, 2028 (366 days), plus four one-year options ending November 6, 2032 (about 4.9 years in all if every option is used)
- Place of performance
- USA; operating area primarily US East Coast and US Gulf Coast, worldwide; delivery port US Gulf Coast
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- Offers due
- November 3, 2026, 12:00 PM Eastern
- How to submit
- Email to Ms. Finley Stoops (finley.a.stoops.civ@us.navy.mil) and Ms. Stephanie Ricker (stephanie.ricker.civ@us.navy.mil)
What to include when you submit
- Company information: name and CAGE code, point of contact with phone, fax, address and email, small business size status, a short history with similar work, and security clearance status
- Companies that are not small are asked to give details on possible subcontracting opportunities
- Vessel information: name, full description (speed, range, size, capacity) and flag
- Pricing: estimated daily charter rate, daily fuel use in metric tons (underway in ballast, underway laden, in port discharging, in port idle), and any delivery and redelivery bonus
- Estimated cost to install three CONSOL stations and one FDS, estimated cost to maintain the FDS, and time needed to install them
- The vessel's earliest readiness date within the laydays, and the days needed after contract award to be ready
- Stowage plan for each fuel (JP8, JP5, F76, JA1) showing at least 280,000 BBLs loaded within a 12 meter laden draft, including deadweight tonnage and displacement
After award, you must have
- Owner installs CONSOL stations within six months of delivery and one FDS no later than one year after contract award From Revision 1_Sources Sought 27-005 - USEC Jones Act Tanker.pdf:
Capable of Cargo Operations at Sea (CONSOL) within six months of delivery.
Not in the notice text
- Attachment (3), the CONSOL drawings, is attached but not read (a scanned PDF with no readable text); the station drawings are referenced by Attachment (1)
- The notice has no set-aside on SAM.gov and says nothing about a future solicitation date or which firms may compete
- The Government's estimated charter value is not stated
- Revisions made on October 21, 2026 are marked in green in the original document, and the marking could not be read here; check the document on SAM.gov to see what changed
- Layday dates are given as commencing December 9, 2027 and cancelling March 9, 2028; what happens if the ship is not ready by then is not explained
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 21, 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)
- Versions
2 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 21, 2026 · Amendment 0001 (this version)Due Nov 3, 2026
- Oct 20, 2026 · Sources SoughtDue Nov 3, 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
Terms on this notice: Sources sought notice
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Sources Sought and Attachments 1, 2, and 3 are hereby attached. Sources Sought Document was revised on 21 October 2026, the revisions are highlighted in green.
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