OPERATION OF ONE OCEANOGRQAPHIC RESEARCH VESSEL The ship will be constructed as a general purpose oceanographic research vessel, the AGOR 26. To be eligible to operate the vessel, the offeror must be a member of the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) or meet the requirements and agree to apply for full membership if selected. In order to maintain the nation's oceanographic fleet at the optimum size, a current CLASS I or CLASS II UNOLS vessel must be retired or otherwise removed from service by the date the AGOR 26 commences operations. Thus, to be eligible for award, the offeror must be able to exchange or retire a CLASS I or CLASS II UNOLS oceanographic research vessel. In addition, the successful offeror is expected to (1) provide institution funds annually to defray part of the cost of ship operations; (2) provide technical assistance during the period covering design development through builder selection and vessel delivery; (3) enter into a renewable charter party agreement with the Navy; (4) maintain and operate the ship under sound maritime practices; (5) complete final outfitting of the vessel; (6) undertake a cooperative role in scheduling and operating the ship in the support of Navy programs and the larger U.S. oceanographic community. Interested parties should request the RFP by 17 October 1997 to be considered further. Requests for the solicitation must be made in writing. Send written requests for the RFP to the following address: Office of Naval Research, Attention ONR:321RF, 800 North Quincy Street, Arlington, VA 22217-5660. No telephone requests will be honored. Anna M. Weston Contracting Officer

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