Multi-year Rental of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV)

PART 1 – ADVANCE CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE (ACAN)
An ACAN is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier.

PART 2 – DEFINITION OF THE REQUIREMENT
The Department of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), through the Geological Survey of Canada – Atlantic, has a requirement to lease a proven deep-water autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) system on an annual basis, with options for renewal for up to five (5) years, to support seafloor mapping, marine geoscience, oceanographic research, Bedford Basin trials, Arctic collaborative research, and related Facility for Intelligent Marine Systems (FIMS) activities.
The proposed requirement is for access to a HUGIN 1000 AUV system, or equivalent, including associated containerized support infrastructure, technical documentation, mission planning and support software, and remote technical support. The AUV system must provide reliable deep-water scientific survey capability and must be suitable for deployment from vessels of opportunity.
The work will involve the following, as applicable:
• Providing one (1) AUV system configured with a standard navigation and scientific sensor payload at lease commencement;
• Providing one (1) climate-controlled 20-foot ISO container configured for storage, transport and maintenance of the AUV system;
• Providing technical manuals, operational documentation, and mission planning/support software;
• Providing basic remote technical assistance for normal operational use during the lease period;
• Maintaining the AUV system in an operationally ready condition consistent with normal scientific survey use;
• Maintaining insurance coverage for loss of or damage to the AUV system and associated containers for the duration of the lease period; and
• Confirming system availability and readiness at the start of each lease year and notifying the Project Authority of issues that may affect system availability.

PART 3 – CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT OF THE STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES (MINIMUM ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS)

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that it meets the following requirements:
3.1 Deep-water AUV capability: The Supplier must provide access to a proven autonomous underwater vehicle system rated to operate at a depth of at least 2,000 metres and suitable for scientific seafloor mapping and subsea data collection missions.
3.2 Navigation capability: The Supplier must provide an AUV system with an integrated navigation suite that includes inertial navigation, Doppler velocity log (DVL), and acoustic positioning capability, or equivalent navigation capability suitable for deep-water scientific survey operations.
3.3 Scientific survey sensor payload: The Supplier must provide an AUV system capable of supporting high-resolution seafloor mapping and subsea data collection using a multibeam echosounder, sidescan sonar, and sub-bottom profiler, or equivalent sensor capabilities that meet the scientific survey objectives.
3.4 Insurance for leased asset: The Supplier must confirm that insurance coverage for loss of or damage to the AUV system and associated containers will be maintained for the duration of the lease period.

PART 4 – APPLICABILITY OF THE TRADE AGREEMENT(S) TO THE PROCUREMENT
This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s):
• Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)
• Revised World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)
• Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)
• Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
• Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA)
• Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA)
• Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement (Canada-UK TCA)
• Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA)

PART 5 – JUSTIFICATION FOR THE PRE-IDENTIFIED SUPPLIER
The supplier mentioned in section 11 below is the only known supplier that meets the mandatory criteria set out in section 3 above.

Should Canada receive a statement of capabilities from a supplier that contains sufficient information to indicate that it meets the requirements set forth in this ACAN, a competitive process will be triggered with a technical and financial evaluation methodology of the bids proposed by the potential bidders

PART 6 – GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS REGULATIONS EXCEPTION(S)
The following exception to soliciting bids under the Government Contracts Regulations is proposed, subject to approval and supporting documentation on file:
• Subsection 6(d): only one person or firm is capable of performing the contract.

The identified supplier, Université Laval, is the only one able to meet all of the criteria identified in paragraph 3 above.

PART 7 – EXCLUSIONS AND/OR LIMITED TENDERING REASONS

The following exclusion(s) and/or limited tendering reasons are invoked under the:
• Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) – Article: 513.1(b) (iii);
• World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP) – Under the Revised GPA - Article XIII, 1 (b) (iii);
• Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) – Article(s) Article 19.12 (b) (iii)
• Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – Article(s): 15.10 , 2 (b) (iii) (s)
• Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) – Article(s) Kbis-09 (b),Article Kbis-09 (c)
• Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement – Article(s): 1409 (b) (iii);
• Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement – Article(s): 17.11 2 (b) (iii)
• Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement – Article 14.3, Under the Revised GPA - Article XIII, 1 (b) (iii);
• Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement – Article(s) 16.10 (b) (iii)
• Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA) – Article(s)1409 (b) (iii)
• Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) – Article(s) 10.13 (b) (iii)

PART 8 – OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Canada intends to retain ownership of any Foreground Intellectual Property arising out of the proposed contract on the basis that the main purpose of the contract is
6.4.1 to generate knowledge and information for public dissemination.
PART 9 – PERIOD OF THE PROPOSED CONTRACT OR DELIVERY DATE
The proposed contract period is from the date of contract award to March 31, 2027, subject to the option to exercise four (4) one-year periods .

PART 10 – COST ESTIMATE OF THE PROPOSED CONTRACT
The estimated value of the contract, including option(s), is $800,000.00 (GST/HST extra).

PART 11 – NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE PRE-IDENTIFIED SUPPLIER

Supplier Name: Université Laval / Amundsen Science
Address: UNIVERSITE LAVAL, PAVILLON A. VACHON, ROOM 3432
1045 AVENUE DE LA MÉDECINE
QUEBEC CITY, QC, G1V 0A6

PART 12 – SUPPLIERS' RIGHT TO SUBMIT A STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES
Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods and/or services described in this ACAN may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.

PART 13 – CLOSING DATE FOR A SUBMISSION OF A STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES
The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is August 21, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.

PART 14 – INQUIRIES AND SUBMISSION OF STATEMENTS OF CAPABILITIES
Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:
Name Alexandre Rheault
Title Procurement Specialist
Address Natural Resources Canada, 580 Booth Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Telephone 613-298-6447
E-mail alexandre.rheault@NRCan-RNCan.gc.ca