Operation & Maintenance (O&M) of T-ATS Vessels

What they want

• Operate and maintain eight Navajo Class towing, salvage and rescue ships (T-ATS 6 to 13), with ship officers and crews, equipment, tools, provisions and supplies
• Keep the ships mission-ready at all times and in good operating condition, with a valid U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection and American Bureau of Shipping classification
• Do scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and repair around the clock, plus shipyard repair periods (RAV)
• Send crews to the shipyards to learn the ships before delivery (pre-delivery orientation, steps NUC-1 to NUC-3), then take delivery from the Government
• Provide shore-side support: project management, crewing, purchasing, logistics, maintenance planning and a quality system
• Manage the annual operating budget, reimbursable pass-through costs, and Government-furnished property
• Meet the Government's training, medical, communications, antiterrorism and damage control requirements
• Report on cost, readiness, planned maintenance, manning and training, which feed the annual Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) rating

What they'll judge offers on

• Pass/fail Factor 1, Solicitation Package (Volume I): 14 items including Top Secret facility clearance, signed Statement of Agreement, Standard Form 33 (SF 33), representations and certifications, SF-LLL lobbying disclosure, DD Form 254, Mission-Essential Contractor Services Plan, labor standards certification, insurance, anti-trafficking plan, VETS-4212, SPRS assessment, corporate viability and budget management statement
• Pass/fail Factor 2, Small Business Participation (Volume II): must meet the minimum share to be subcontracted to U.S. small businesses
• Pass/fail Factor 3, Minimum Technical Requirements (Volume III Part 1): current ISO 9001:2015 quality certificate and a safety management certificate under the International Maritime Organization's ISM Code
• Trade-off Factor 1, most important: Technical (Volume III Part 2): (a) ship operating experience, (b) ship maintenance and repair experience, (c) staffing plan, (d) technical management approach
• Trade-off Factor 2: Past Performance (Volume IV): recency (finished within three years of the closing date), relevancy, and quality
• Trade-off Factor 3: Price (Volume V): total evaluated price from per diem rates times notional days of each ship status over the base and four options, checked for fair and reasonable and unbalanced pricing

What to include when you submit

• Send five volumes: I Solicitation Package, II Small Business Participation, III Technical (Part 1 Minimum Technical Requirements and Part 2 Trade-off), IV Past Performance, V Price
• Volume I: evidence of an active Top Secret facility clearance for you and any company that will operate the vessels; a signed Statement of Agreement to all terms without exception; SF 33 Blocks 12 to 18 signed and dated
• Volume I: a statement that your SAM.gov registration is current plus any representations and certifications not in SAM; SF-LLL (Attachment 15); DD Form 254 (Attachment 3) with your and any subcontractor's information; Mission-Essential Contractor Services Plan worksheet (Attachment 9)
• Volume I: Service Contract Labor Standards certification, insurance statement, anti-trafficking compliance plan, VETS-4212 evidence or a narrative, SPRS assessment under 3 years old, corporate viability narrative with at least $38,000,000 in liquid assets or credit, and a budget and financial management statement
• Complete and sign the self-attestation checklists (Attachments 16, 17 and 18); the Attachment 18 checklist goes at the beginning of Volume III Part 2
• Volume III Part 1: ISO 9001:2015 certificate and safety management certificate for the ship operator; a signed commitment from any separate company that will operate the ships
• Volume III Part 2: narratives on ship operating experience, repair experience, staffing plan and technical approach, with Attachment 19 (Ship Operating Experience) and Attachment 20 (Dry Docking Experience) matching the narratives exactly
• Volume IV: past performance on Attachment 7 (not read). Volume V: Pricing Form A/B (Attachment 11)
• Acknowledge Amendment A0001, which moved the response due date to November 16, 2026 from October 26, 2026

Current contractor

No incumbent is named. The PWS says the ships are under construction when the solicitation issues.

Not in the notice text

• Most of the solicitation (Sections C through L, including the instructions for sending offers, page limits, ship delivery dates, insurance terms and clauses) and most of the Performance Work Statement were not read. Check the full documents on SAM.gov and in PIEE.
• Attached but not read: Attachments 2 (wage determination WD2019028823), 3 (DD 254), 4 (Protection and Indemnity), 5 (Hull Clauses), 6, 7 (Past Performance Narrative), 8 (Invoice Requirements), 11 (Pricing Form A/B), 13 (Government-furnished property), 14, Exhibit A (data requirements) and Exhibit B.
• The per diem rate tables show TBD for every ship and period; prices are set on Pricing Form A/B, which was not read.
• The minimum percentage of the work to be subcontracted to small businesses and whether a small business subcontracting plan is required are not in the text read.
• Question deadline, any pre-proposal conference or site visit, and the anticipated ship delivery dates are not in the text read.
• The Government's estimate or total contract value is not stated.