Marine Research Contributions from Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)

ADVANCE CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE (ACAN)

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.

2. Definition of Requirements (Statement of Work)

The department of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) has a requirement to…

Acquire, process and interpret seafloor and sub-bottom data (video, cores, fluid samples, sediment, conductivity, etc.) from the Beaufort continental shelf and slope at depths up to 5500m to improve the understanding of the geology and geohazards in this region (described further below).

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) are required for investigations of Arctic marine geohazards in the Canadian Beaufort Sea. Contractor is required to:

1) Transport equipment and personnel to Cambridge Bay, NU to board a marine research expedition in the fall of 2016 on the Canadian Coast Guard ice breaker Sir Wilfrid Laurier;

2) Supervise and conduct ROV and AUV operations including provision of personnel and expertise for maintenance and communication links to the vessel;

3) Conduct sampling surveys with parameters (frequencies, resolution, acoustic backscatter collection and processing, survey patterns, navigation links, and post-processing routines of the AUV acoustic data) sufficiently similar to previous surveys as to allow for analysis of seabed changes.

4) Post-expedition data processing, archiving, exchange, and interpretation;

and

5) Scientific contributions to cruise report and follow-up publications.

Required specifications for AUV include: capabilities for seafloor mapping, sub-bottom sediment characterization, operation capacity to depths of over 5000m and durations of over 15 hours, with experience operating in Arctic environments.

Required specifications for ROV include: capacity to operate at depths of 1500m, suitable for operation from a vessel of opportunity with two scientific crew, high definition video capacity, a manipulator arm, a push core system, fluid sampling capabilities, on board conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD), a track point system for navigation and experience operating in Arctic environments.

Familiarity with Canadian Coast Guard operating procedures and equipment required.

3. Criteria for Assessment of the Statement of Capabilities

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that it meets the following requirements:

1. Possession, availability and experience in the operations of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) whose specifications include: capabilities for seafloor mapping, sub-bottom sediment characterization, operation capacity to depths of over 5000m and durations of over 15 hours, with experience operating in Arctic environments.
2. Possession, availability and experience in the operations of a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) whose specifications include: capacity to operate at depths of 1500m, suitable for operation from a vessel of opportunity with two scientific crew, high definition video capacity, a manipulator arm, a push core system, fluid sampling capabilities, on board conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD), a track point system for navigation and experience operating in Arctic environments.
3. Demonstrated experience in applying Canadian Coast Guard operating procedures and utilizing on-board equipment as required and as necessary to perform on-board deep water survey operations.
4. Demonstrated experience in post-expedition processing of data acquired by ROVs and AUVs in northern marine environments.
5. Knowledge and understanding of Arctic continental shelf and slope environments, demonstrated through publications in at least three recognized scientific journals.

4. Trade Agreements

This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s):

Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT);

North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA);

World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP);

5. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier

We intend to deal directly with the supplier mentioned in section 11 below as; it is the only known supplier that meets the mandatory criteria set out in section 3 and can provide the services as described in section 2.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is a marine research institute dedicated to developing new tools and techniques to study the ocean. MBARI is a world leader in marine technology including equipment design, software design and post processing of marine data. MBARI has experience working collaboratively with researchers in the Arctic and on Canada’s west coast and has produced many peer-reviewed publications on this research (see below). MBARI has carried out autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) surveys in the Beaufort Sea in the Canadian Arctic, and has developed a purpose-built remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for use in the Arctic at depths of up to 1500m.

This ROV has capacity for sediment and gas sampling, video transects, and instrument deployment and recovery (with a 70 pound instrument payload).The core vehicle is outfitted with the following suite of instruments: HD camera, scanning sonar, lasers to provide visual scale, LED lights (10,000 lumens) and CTD. A five-function manipulator arm (ECA Robotics Arm 5E) enable a sampling (rock samples, push cores, etc.). In addition, the vehicle has a removable tool sled for mission-specific payloads and sampling requirements. MBARI has conducted over 35 dives with ROVs in the Canadian Arctic.

MBARI would deploy their Dorado-class AUV for this Arctic research cruise. This unit has a seafloor mapping module, and an imaging module to characterize the sub bottom sediments. The core vehicle elements are deep-rated (the mapping AUV is 6,000 meters rated) and have been operated for as long as 20 hours. MBARI has world class experts and can deploy the personnel to operate the AUV during the fall of 2016 and process and interpret the AUV data on board the ship. The AUV was operated on board Canadian Coast Guard vessels in the Arctic on a science expedition in 2013.

Specific adaptations to the vessel and the MBARI equipment to function onboard the CCGS Sir Wilfred Laurier and to conduct specific sampling (e.g. temperature, hydrate melting and gas sampling) are already in place, from past (2013) survey operations. Previous survey parameters are part of equipment settings (frequencies, resolution, acoustic backscatter collection and processing, survey patterns, navigation links, and post-processing routines of the AUV acoustic data) to match the 2013 surveys. Familiarity and experience of both vessel and MBARI crews contribute to both safe and efficient operations. The combination of past and planned science publishing collaboration, specific capabilities of the equipment, safety and efficiency of technical operations, and the high precision reproduction of re-survey parameters that the contractor brings to the project is essential to the goals of the expedition and can only be supplied by MBARI.

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

6. Exception to the Government Contracts Regulations

The following exception(s) to the Government Contracts Regulations is (are) invoked for this procurement under subsection 6(d) – “only one person or firm is capable of performing the work”.

The identified provider, The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), is the only one able to meet all of the criteria identified in paragraph 3 above.

7. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons

The following exclusion(s) and/or limited tendering reasons are invoked under the:

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): Article 1016.2(b)

Agreement on Internal Trade: Article 506.12(b)

World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP): Article XV.1 (b)

8. Ownership of Intellectual Property

Ownership of any Foreground Intellectual Property arising out of the proposed contract will vest in the Contractor.

9. Contract Period

The contract period will be from date of contract award to March 31, 2017.

10. Estimated Cost

The estimated maximum value of the contract is $168,000.00 CAD inclusive.

11. Name and Address of the Proposed Contractor

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

7700 Sandholt Road

Moss Landing CA 95039 USA

12. Suppliers’ right to submit a statement of capabilities

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the services/goods described herein, may submit a Statement of Capabilities in writing, preferably by e-mail, to the contact person identified in this Notice on or before the closing date and time of this Notice. The Statement of Capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.

13. Closing Date

The closing date for a submission of a Statement of Capabilities is: July 22, 2016 at 14:00 (Pacific Daylight Time).

14. Contract Authority

Gerald Baran

Senior Procurement Officer

506 West Burnside Road

Victoria, BC

V8Z 1M5

Telephone: 250-298-2502

Email: gerald.baran@canada.ca