Marine Terminals Corporation- East, Inc.

B-410698.9 Published: Aug 04, 2016. Publicly Released: Aug 23, 2016. Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Marine Terminals Corporation-East, Inc. (MTCE), of Garden City, Georgia, protests the award of a contract to Portus Services, LLC, of Jacksonville, Florida, under request for proposals (RFP) No. HTC711-14-R-R003, the Master Solicitation, Call 0006, issued by the Department of the Air Force, United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), for stevedoring and related terminal services at Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point (MOTSU), North Carolina. The protester challenges the inclusion of Portus Services' proposal in the competitive range, the agency's evaluation of Portus Services' technical and price proposal, and the agency's conclusion that Portus Services is a responsible offeror. We deny the protest. We deny the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  Marine Terminals Corporation-East, Inc. File:  B-410698.9 Date:  August 4, 2016 Constance A. Wilkinson, Esq., and Meghan F. Weinberg, Esq., Epstein Becker & Green, PC, for the protester. Donald C. Holmes, Esq., Donald C. Holmes & Associates, P.A., for Portus Services, LLC, the intervenor. Erika L. Whelan Retta, Esq., Department of the Air Force, for the agency. Kenneth Kilgour, Esq., and Laura Eyester, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Protest that the agency unreasonably included the awardee’s proposal in the competitive range is denied where, after initial technical evaluations, the awardee’s proposal was among those most highly-rated. 2.  Protest challenging agency’s evaluation of technical proposals is denied where the solicitation requirement was unambiguous, and the agency’s evaluation reasonably applied that requirement. 3.  Protest that the agency improperly accepted a proposal that was underpriced is denied where the solicitation announced that the agency would assess price reasonableness, not price realism; protest that the agency failed to assess the risk of unbalanced pricing lacks merit where the protester asserts only that the awardee’s price proposal underbid the rate for one service. 4.  Protest that agency unreasonably found awardee to be a responsible contractor is dismissed where the allegation does not rise to the threshold level that, by its nature, would be expected to have a strong bearing on whether the awardee should be found responsible as contemplated by our Bid Protest Regulations. DECISION Marine Terminals Corporation-East, Inc. (MTCE), of Garden City, Georgia, protests the award of a contract to Portus Services, LLC, of Jacksonville, Florida, under request for proposals (RFP) No. HTC711-14-R-R003, the Master Solicitation, Call 0006, issued by the Department of the Air Force, United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), for stevedoring and related terminal services at Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point (MOTSU), North Carolina.  The protester challenges the inclusion of Portus Services’ proposal in the competitive range, the agency’s evaluation of Portus Services’ technical and price proposal, and the agency’s conclusion that Portus Services is a responsible offeror. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On August 28, 2014, USTRANSCOM issued a Master Solicitation, under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) parts 12 and 15, for stevedoring and related terminal services, which includes the management and operations required in connection with the receipt, processing, and/or loading or unloading of cargo from ocean vessels, via multiple conveyances.  Agency Report (AR), Exh. 2, Master Solicitation Notice, at 1; RFP at 55.  The Master Solicitation would remain open for three years from its effective date, and the agency would solicit individual requirements for specific ports using a call for proposals against the Master Solicitation.  AR, Exh. 2, Master Solicitation Notice, at 1.  The Master Solicitation contemplated the award of a single indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ), fixed-price contract for a base year and four 1-year option periods for each call for proposals.  Id.; RFP at 3-5; RFP, Amend. 0001, at 3, 6; Contracting Officer’s Statement of Facts (COSF) at 2.  On September 24, 2014, the agency issued call for proposals 0006 for stevedoring and related terminal services for MOTSU.  AR, Exh. 8, Call 0006, at 1.  Call for proposals 0006 explained that offerors must submit their proposals in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Master Solicitation, and the agency would review and evaluate proposals in accordance with the procedures identified in the Master Solicitation.  Id.