NOTICE OF INTENT TO NEGOTIATE A SOLE-SOURCE CONTRACT

The US Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO), NOAA Ship Nancy Foster is requesting a foam filled sponson, including both the foam and the sheath. This product will be provided by Wing Inflatables Inc located at 3701 Mount Diablo Blvd, Lafayette, California 94549.

This vessel was designed and built by Northwind with the specific components of the vessel which are integral to its performance and stability are custom made by Wing Inflatables.

The collar properties and engineering design specifications are proprietary and cannot be provided by another manufacturer. Wing Inflatables Inc. is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for the sponson and the collar. Therefore, the government intends to negotiate directly with Wing Inflatables Inc. avoiding unnecessary mark ups, delay, warranty, and delivery issues.

The Government is not aware of any other authorized vendors that can provide this specialized equipment while also meeting all of the requirements/concerns listed above. The intended procurement is to acquire one Sponson with a new collar of the same design.

The Government intends to acquire this part under the guidelines of FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisitions Procedures and FAR Part 12, Commercial Items. The Government intends to solicit and negotiate directly with Wing Inflatables Inc. under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i). The North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) for this acquisition is 336612, Boat Building with a business size standard of 1000 employees.

This is not a solicitation for competitive quotes. However, if any interested party that is an authorized distributor, re-seller, dealer from Wing Inflatables and can provide the above requirement, at no additional mark ups, without compromising manufacturing, delivery and warranty may submit a statement of capabilities, which if timely received, will be considered by NOAA. A statement of capabilities must be received by July 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM EST.

A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement in the future.

Evidence must be provided of ability to provide the required item, authorized dealer/supplier and availability. The capability statement and any other information furnished must be in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow the Government to determine if the party can meet all of the requirements. Capability statements and related materials must be e-mailed to Alexander Cancela at alexander.cancela@noaa.gov by July 24, 2025 at 5pm EST.