Ocean Services, LLC, B-292511.2, November 6, 2003

B-292511.2 Nov 06, 2003 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Specifications in a solicitation for the time charter of an oceanographic research vessel to be used in performing hydrographic surveys in the Gulf of Mexico and near coastal areas of Alaska that mandate that the vessel meet certain enhanced safety-related requirements are not objectionable. Given the environment in which the vessel will operate and the agency's desire to contract for a vessel that offers a greater level of safety for its crew than that advocated by the protester. 2. Are overly restrictive. NOAA will use the ORV in performing hydrographic surveys in the Gulf of Mexico and the near coastal areas of Alaska. /1/ RFP Sec. Proposals were received and evaluated. Discussions were conducted. View Decision Ocean Services, LLC, B-292511.2, November 6, 2003 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Ocean Services, LLC protests request for proposals (RFP) No. N00033-02-R-2009, issued by the Department of the Navy, for the time charter of a vessel to support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) hydrographic survey program. Ocean argues that the terms of the RFP, as amended, are overly restrictive, and that the agency improperly disclosed the prices proposed by offerors during the competition. We deny the protest. The RFP provides for the award of a time charter contract for an oceanographic research vessel (ORV) vessel for a base period of 1 year, with three 1-year and one 11-month option periods, to the offeror submitting the proposal representing the best value to the government based upon the stated evaluation factors. NOAA will use the ORV in performing hydrographic surveys in the Gulf of Mexico and the near coastal areas of Alaska. /1/ RFP Sec. C2.2. The solicitation provides a number of minimum requirements with regard to the vessel, including, for example, a minimum range of 6,048 nautical miles, a minimum transit speed of 12 knots, and a minimum length overall of 150 feet. The solicitation also provides that "[t]he vessel shall . . . meet the requirements of Title 46 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 188-196, Subchapter U, Oceanographic Research." The RFP states that "[t]he vessel shall meet all International Maritime Organization . . . Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) construction, equipment, and communication requirements for a vessel of its type, size, class, and service." RFP Sec. C2.3. Proposals were received and evaluated, discussions were conducted, and final proposal revisions (FPR) were requested, received, and evaluated. The agency determined that the proposal submitted by Alpha Marine Services, L.L.C., represented the best value to the agency and made award to that firm. After requesting and receiving a debriefing, Ocean filed a protest with our Office, arguing that the agency failed to conduct meaningful discussions, and failed to evaluate the proposals reasonably and in accordance with the terms of the RFP. In response to the protest, the agency informed our Office that it was taking the corrective action of amending the solicitation and reopening discussions with the offerors. Our Office then dismissed the protest as academic. The agency, in considering precisely what corrective action to take, determined that "actions must be taken to 'level the playing field' with respect to Alpha Marine as well as with respect to the one offeror who had not been debriefed," given that the debriefed offerors were aware of Alpha Marine's proposed price. The record reflects that the agency "decided the best way to 'level the playing field' is to provide the 'bottom line' price of each proposal so all offerors including Alpha Marine could be aware of where they stood with respect to other offerors." The agency noted that the other options considered "of not releasing prices or freezing prices would limit competition and violate the spirit of the Competition in Contracting [Act of 1984]." Agency Report (AR), Tab I, Memorandum (Aug. 12, 2003), at 2. The agency informed the offerors of its intended action, and only Ocean objected. However, according to the agency, Ocean failed to "provide guidance as to why [it] felt [it] would receive competitive harm in the market place from [the] release." The record reflects that the agency researched the issue, and concluded based upon its research that the release of the offeror's bottom line pricing was not precluded by regulation, and that there was no "reasonable expectation that the release of the bottom line pricing in the procurement would result in competitive harm." The agency nevertheless decided that in order to minimize "even the possibility" of competitive harm, it would not identify either the offeror or ship by name, or provide any of the items comprising the offered prices (such as fuel costs) when providing the bottom line pricing to the offerors. AR, Tab I, Memorandum (Aug. 12, 2003), at 3.