SOURCES SOUGHT
B -- Year 2008 Investigation for Potential Spanish Shipwrecks in Ultra-Deep Water
- Notice Date
- 2/21/2008
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541720
— Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities
- Contracting Office
- MMS Procurement Branch, HQ 381 Elden Street, MS 2102 Herndon VA 20170-4817 US
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- M08PS00031
- Response Due
- 3/7/2008
- Archive Date
- 4/6/2008
- Point of Contact
- Adrian, Olivia 703-787-1070, olivia.adrian@mms.gov
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to Adrian, Olivia F.
(olivia.adrian@mms.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This Request for Information (RFI) is issued in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10.001 (a) (2) (ii) to conduct a Market Research before soliciting offers for an acquisition with an estimated value in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold and FAR Part 10.002 (b) (2)(iii) Publishing formal requests for information in appropriate technical or scientific journals or business publications. The Government?s intent, based on the information received from this RFI is to make a determination to issue Solicitation as a 100% small business set-aside or full and open competition. The purpose of this RFI is to identify potential small business sources that are interested in and capable of satisfying the Agency?s requirements described herein. Please note that this requirement is subject to the availability of funds. The result of this RFI notice will help determine if sources capable of satisfying the agency?s requirements exist. Additionally, it is not the Government?s intention to enter into a contract based on this notice or otherwise pay for information solicited. This is not a Request for Proposal (RFP). This RFI is for planning purposes only, and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Minerals Management Service (MMS). The primary purpose of this notice is to improve small business access to acquisition information, to enhance competition and identify potential small businesses (for contracting and subcontracting opportunities) that are interested and capable of performing the work described below. The North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) for this requirement is 541720, ?Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities?. Firms responding to this RFI should state whether they are a small business concern, as defined by Small Business Association Size Standard for the NAICS 541720 is $6.5M. Acknowledgment of receipt of responses will not be made, nor will respondents be notified of the evaluation of the information received. MMS will not accept unsolicited proposals in response to the subject of this RFI. BACKGROUND: The Minerals Management Service (MMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, is charged with the responsibility of considering the effects of its actions on significant cultural resources on the Outer Continental Shelf of the United States, from State Waters to the limit of the Exclusive Economic Zone. This responsibility to ensure proper management and protection of the nation?s cultural heritage is derived from several pieces of legislation including: the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 (as amended), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) of 1978. Historic shipwrecks have, to date, been discovered through oil industry sonar surveys in water depths of up to 6,500 feet. Many of these wrecks previously were not known to exist in these areas from the historic record. Taking these discoveries into account, MMS now includes some deepwater areas, primarily on the approach to the Mississippi River, in our requirement for pre-disturbance archaeological surveys. Recent research also has shed light on the routes used for shipping during the 16th through the 19th centuries. This research suggests that there may be a higher potential for earlier shipwrecks (ca.16th-18th century) in Ultra-Deep Water (UDW) of the Gulf of Mexico (particularly in the Sigsbee Escarpment, Keathley Canyon, DeSoto Canyon, Mississippi Canyon, Green Canyon, and Walker Ridge areas). MMS studies to date have largely discounted the presence of Exploration or Colonial Period shipwrecks in significant numbers in the GOMR because of the paucity of reported shipwrecks from those periods in the secondary literature, most of which stranded along the coast. What has not been explored thoroughly are losses far from land associated with other causes (such as fire, structural failure of the hull, foundering during a storm, or armed attack). Since the likelihood of anyone surviving such a catastrophe at sea also diminishes considerably, the likelihood of its location being accurately reported is almost nil. Generally, such ships would have been reported as simply ?lost at sea.? Colonial Period shipwrecks in the UDW almost exclusively would be associated with the Spanish fleets leaving annually from Veracruz in Mexico bound for Havana, Cuba, and eventually for Spain. Hundreds of ships, laden with goods from Mexico, made the passage to Cuba. Prevailing winds and currents in the Gulf dictated that fleets sailed north northwest from Vera Cruz to about 26? North Latitude before turning east for Florida. Losses of ships on this route are poorly understood and are the focus of this research. The MMS has an interest in amassing and assessing this body of research as part of our mission to protect submerged cultural resources from potential effects of oil and gas activity. Understanding the likelihood of the presence of this type of submerged cultural resource located in the ultra deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico will enable MMS to anticipate and protect these sites. This knowledge will also enhance the MMS? ability to employ adaptive management strategies in our regulation of OCS oil and gas activities to minimize impacts to significant cultural resources to employ adaptive management of the oil and gas industry to prevent anthropogenic impacts. PURPOSE: This study shall have a maximum two-year (24 months) period of performance following the date of contract award. Repositories where archival resources will be evaluated must be identified and visited. Both a transcription and translation into English of each relevant document will be provided by a professional paleographer in .pdf format. In addition, digital copies of all relevant documents will be provided to MMS in a .pdf format. Historical data and imagery acquired under this Contract must be analyzed in such a way as to identify each vessel casualty and establish, in as much as possible, its type and date of construction, nationality, ownership (past and present), use history, mission and cargo (if any) at time of loss, and factors contributing toward its loss. A goal of the analysis is to determine each vessel?s likely location and potential present condition. The Contractor shall produce one Report of Findings that presents the assessments of the body of data collected in the archival investigations, including descriptions of methods and analyses, interpretations of the analyzed information, and results and discussions of the findings. STUDY PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS: Research personnel must possess extensive expertise in maritime history, knowledge of historic research, archival research, translation of archaic Spanish, and paleography. This expertise must be demonstrated through successful completion of projects comparable to this one or authorship in peer-reviewed publications. The contractor should also have extensive knowledge of Adobe Acrobat and ESRI ArchGIS. SOURCES SOUGHT: Interested organizations should submit a response with approximately 20-page or less that provides information about the small business firm?s ability to perform all aspects of the effort described above. Emphasis should be placed on prior experience conducting projects of similar scope and complexity, and publications recorded in peer-reviewed scientific journals. All proprietary information should be marked accordingly. Responses will be reviewed by MMS personnel and will be held in a confidential manner. RESPONSES: Your response must be delivered as: one (1) original plus three (3) hard copies and two (2) electronic/diskette copies (CD MS/Word/PDF), total of four (4) hard copies and two (2) CDs. Response due date: not later than close of business (COB), 5 P.M. Eastern Day Time (EDT), 7 March 2008 at the address below: One (1) Paper copy, One (1) original signed copy and one (1) electronic diskette copy (CD MS/Word/PDF) to: Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service Procurement Operations Branch MS 2500, 381 Elden Street Herndon, VA 20170 Attn: Ms Olivia F. Adrian - 703-787-1151 (Phone) and email at: olivia.adrian@mms.gov Three (3) Paper copies and one (1) electronic diskette copy (CD MS/Word/PDF) to: Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service Gulf of Mexico OCS Region MS -5431 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard New Orleans, LA 70123-2394 Attn: Christopher E. Horrell, PhD, phone: 504-736-2864 email: christopher.horrell@mms.gov THE OFFICIAL RECEIPT TIME WILL BE DETERMINED BY RECEIPT IN THE HERNDON, VA OFFICE UNLESS OTHERWISE REQUESTED. If the offeror desires to hand deliver their responses, they are informed that MMS is a secure office complex and they MUST NOT enter the building beyond the lobby. You MUST contact Olivia F. Adrian, Contracting Officer at (703) 787-1151 and set up an appointment 24 hours in advance of dropping off your submission. A staff member will meet the courier to receive the submittal. For any questions, include your full name, the RFI number & title (Year 2008 Investigation for Potential Spanish Shipwrecks in Ultra-deep Water Study), your organization name, complete address, and phone and fax numbers. Questions must be submitted to the Contracting Officer not later than 5 P.M. COB, EDT on 29 Feb 2008. Email your questions to Olivia Adrian at olivia.adrian@mms.gov. PHONE CALLS ARE STRONGLY DISCOURAGED.
- Record
- SN01514021-W 20080223/080221224635 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |