SAM #141009-26-0083

NOAA Sole Source Procurement of AML MVP-ROAM Underway Profiling System

NOAA's Center of Excellence for Operational Ocean and Great Lakes Mapping (COE), under the National Ocean Service (NOS), is seeking to procure an AML MVP-ROAM Underway Profiling System from AML Oceanographic Ltd on a sole source basis. - Government Buyer: - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - Acquisition & Grants Office, Eastern Acquisition Division-Norfolk - National Ocean Service (NOS), Office of Coast Survey (OCS), Center of Excellence for Operational Ocean and Great Lakes Mapping (COE) - OEM and Vendor: - AML Oceanographic Ltd (manufacturer and sole provider) - Product Requested: - AML MVP-ROAM Underway Profiling System - Ultra-compact, hand-portable moving vessel profiler - Features: Xchange™ field-swappable sensor heads, wireless WiFi data transfer, Sailfish software architecture - Designed for dense spatial and temporal water column sampling, hydrographic surveying, and multibeam bathymetry corrections - Unique Requirements: - Extreme portability and minimal deck space - Seamless integration with existing AML devices and workflows - Only AML Oceanographic Ltd can provide this system; no authorized resellers or alternative products meet NOAA's needs - Market research confirms AML Oceanographic Ltd as the only global provider of this technology.

Description

***THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION’S (NOAA) ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, EASTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-NORFOLK, NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE (NOS) OFFICE OF COAST SURVEY (OCS) CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR OPERATIONAL OCEAN AND GREAT LAKES MAPPING (COE), INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE AND AWARD A PURCHASE ORDER, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF RFO FAR 6.103-1, WITH AML OCEANOGRAPHIC LTD OUT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA FOR AN AML MVP-ROAM UNDERWAY PROFILING SYSTEM.

 NO SET ASIDE IS TO BE USED FOR THIS SOLE SOURCE REQUIREMENT. THE ASSOCIATED NAICS CODE IS 334511.

***THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON NOAA’S REQUIREMENT THAT AML OCEANOGRAPHIC LTD IS THE MANUFACTURER AND SOLE PROVIDER OF THE MVP ROAM UNDERWAY PROFILING SYSTEM. AML OCEANOGRAPHIC LTD DOES NOT HAVE ANY MVP-ROAM AUTHORIZED PARTNERS OR RESELLERS.

 THE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE (COE) WILL USE THIS TURNKEY SYSTEM TO DIRECTLY SUPPORT THE IMMEDIATE AND ONGOING EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF THE NOAA HYDROGRAPHIC WORKFORCE AND ITS EXTERNAL PARTNERS. MOVING VESSEL PROFILERS ARE A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF MODERN HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYING, ALLOWING FOR DENSE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL WATER COLUMN SAMPLING WITHOUT BREAKING A SURVEY LINE. THIS HANDS-ON CAPABILITY ENSURES THAT PERSONNEL LEARN HOW TO COLLECT CONTINUOUS SOUND VELOCITY DATA, WHICH IS STRICTLY ESSENTIAL FOR ACCURATE MULTIBEAM BATHYMETRY CORRECTIONS.

THE AML OCEANOGRAPHIC MVP-ROAM SYSTEM FEATURES UPCOMING, NEXT-GENERATION UNDERWAY PROFILING TECHNOLOGY THAT IS CURRENTLY NOT IN ACTIVE DEPLOYMENT ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD. ACQUIRING THIS SPECIFIC BRAND SETS NOAA UP AS GLOBAL LEADERS, FULFILLING A CORE COE PILLAR TO THOROUGHLY TEST, VET, AND ESTABLISH OPERATIONAL WORKFLOWS FOR NOVEL MARITIME SENSORS BEFORE THEY ENTER THE WIDER INDUSTRY. CRUCIALLY, THE MVP-ROAM IS EXPLICITLY ENGINEERED TO TAKE UP CONSIDERABLY LESS PHYSICAL DECK SPACE THAN ANY OTHER PROFILING SYSTEM AVAILABLE, MAKING IT THE ONLY UNDERWAY PROFILING PRODUCT CAPABLE OF EXTREME PORTABILITY. THIS ULTRA-COMPACT FOOTPRINT IS REQUIRED TO FIT EASILY ON COE'S FUTURE PLATFORMS AND SMALL VESSELS OF OPPORTUNITY (VOOS) WHERE SPACE IS HEAVILY CONSTRAINED. A "BRAND NAME OR EQUAL" DESCRIPTION CANNOT BE UTILIZED BECAUSE ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS ARE HEAVY, LARGE, PERMANENTLY BOLTED, AND COMPLETELY UNSUITED FOR RAPID HAND-PORTABLE DEPLOYMENT BY A SMALL TEAM. SHIFTING AWAY FROM AML WOULD ELIMINATE THE DIRECT TECHNICAL R&D COLLABORATION AND SETUP SUPPORT PROVIDED BY THE VENDOR.

THE MVP-ROAM SYSTEM SERVES AS THE INTEGRAL TECHNICAL LINK REQUIRED TO TIE TOGETHER ALL THE OTHER AML INSTRUMENTS BEING PROCURED UNDER SEPARATE COE ACTIONS (SUCH AS THE AML STATIC CTD PROBE SYSTEMS). BY UTILIZING THE EXACT SAME PATENTED XCHANGE™ FIELD-SWAPPABLE SENSOR HEADS, WIRELESS WIFI DATA TRANSFER PROTOCOLS, AND SAILFISH SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE ACROSS ALL PROFILING PLATFORMS, THE COE ESTABLISHES A UNIFIED, SEAMLESS EDUCATIONAL ECOSYSTEM. THIS COMPLETE CROSS-COMPATIBILITY ALLOWS STUDENTS TO EFFORTLESSLY SWAP SENSOR PAYLOADS BETWEEN STATIC AND UNDERWAY DEVICES IN THE FIELD ON-DEMAND. INTRODUCING AN ALTERNATIVE MANUFACTURER'S WINCH/DAVIT ARCHITECTURE WOULD BREAK THIS HARDWARE INTEGRATION, SPLIT SOFTWARE WORKFLOWS, AND REQUIRE ENTIRELY SEPARATE, REDUNDANT TRAINING MODULES

AML OCEANOGRAPHIC’S, MVP-ROAM IS THE ONLY MOVING VESSEL PROFILER ON THE MARKET BUILT TO THESE HIGHLY COMPACT, LIGHTWEIGHT, AND HAND-PORTABLE DIMENSIONS. BECAUSE THERE ARE NO ALTERNATIVE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPERS PRODUCING UNDERWAY PROFILING HARDWARE OF THIS CLASS, AML OCEANOGRAPHIC IS THE SINGLE CAPABLE SOURCE TO FULFILL THIS TECHNICAL REQUIREMENT.

EXTENSIVE MARKET RESEARCH INTO THE AVAILABILITY OF COMPACT, MOBILE UNDERWAY PROFILING SYSTEMS WAS CONDUCTED.

MARKET RESEARCH CONCLUSIVELY VERIFIED THAT AML OCEANOGRAPHIC IS THE SOLE PROVIDER OF MOVING VESSEL PROFILER TECHNOLOGY WORLDWIDE. NO COMPETITOR OR ALTERNATIVE MANUFACTURER PRODUCES A PRODUCT THAT CAN MINIMIZE DECK SPACE, ACHIEVE RAPID HAND-PORTABLE MOBILIZATION, OR PROVIDE AN INTEGRATED ECOSYSTEM OF FIELD-SWAPPABLE SENSOR PAYLOADS. WHILE LARGER, VESSEL-BOUND PROFILING WINCHES EXIST IN THE COMMERCIAL MARKET, THEY ARE DESIGNED FOR LARGE HYDROGRAPHIC SHIPS AND COMPLETELY FAIL TO MEET THE COE'S REQUIREMENT FOR A LIGHTWEIGHT TOOL DEPLOYABLE FROM SMALL TRAINING CRAFT AND PLATFORMS. BECAUSE THE TRAINING CENTER IS INTENTIONALLY STRUCTURING ITS CONTINUOUS DATA COLLECTION CURRICULUM AROUND EXISTING COMPATIBLE SENSORS, THE MVP-ROAM FITS UNIQUELY INTO THIS PLANNED WORKFLOW WITHOUT REQUIRING COSTLY, THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE INTEGRATION.

DELIVERY WITHIN 120 DAYS FROM DATE OF AWARD

***THIS PRESOLICITATION NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS AND NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE IS AVAILABLE. HOWEVER, FIRMS THAT BELIEVE THEY CAN FULLY MEET THE GOVERNMENT'S REQUIREMENTS MAY SUBMIT SUBSTANTIATING DOCUMENTATION OR A REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN WRITING TO THE IDENTIFIED POINT OF CONTACT WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THIS PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE. SUCH REQUESTS AND DOCUMENTATION WILL BE EVALUATED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT TO CONDUCT THIS PROCUREMENT ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS. A DETERMINATION BY THE GOVERNMENT NOT TO CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT, BASED UPON RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE, IS SOLELY WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNMENT. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE.

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