Offshore Naval Fuelling Requirements, Non-Canadian Ports

Trade Agreement: NONE Tendering Procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid Attachment: None Competitive Procurement Strategy: N/A - P&A/LOI Only Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No Nature of Requirements: OFFSHORE NAVAL FUELLING REQUIREMENTS, NON-CANADIAN PORTS

Client Department: Department of National Defence, Royal Canadian Navy, Maritime Forces Atlantic

Introduction

This Request for Information (RFI) is not a bidding opportunity but an avenue to allow industry to provide information upon a potential requirement. In this case, industry feedback is sought from suppliers on their ability to satisfy potential navy fuelling requirements, described herein, before the issuance of a formal solicitation document.

This RFI is issued by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) on behalf of the Department of National Defence (DND) to gather information to assist in forming a procurement strategy for fuelling naval vessels at various locations around the world. DND has a requirement to obtain offshore fuel (Naval Distillate and fuel support services) for the Royal Canadian Navy when other fuelling options are not utilized or available. The intended meaning of the terms "Supplier", "Contractor", "Industry" and "Industrial Partner" are interchangeable for the purposes of this RFI.

Suppliers are encouraged to provide ideas and suggestions on how the eventual solicitation (pricing, evaluation components, work scope ? etc.) might be structured. While this is not a bid document, it is an opportunity to help shape the resulting requirements by allowing supplier input and advice to PWGSC and DND (ie ? the Crown). No contract (or contractual instrument) will be awarded as a result of this RFI. This RFI, or any supporting information provided with this RFI, shall not constitute an authorization by the Crown to undertake any work that would result in any obligation or costs to the Crown.

Participation in this RFI is not a pre-qualification for procurement, nor a prerequisite to participation in any subsequent request for proposals (RFP) from PWGSC.

Intent

The feedback from vendors resulting from this RFI will assist the Crown in its understanding of the viability of procurement strategies being contemplated currently and allow revision if the industry operates differently. The RFI may assist the Crown to:

· Determine whether to proceed with the requirements/strategy as currently planned, and if so, further developing internal planning, approval and solicitation documents that may potentially lead to a solicitation;

· Refine or alter the procurement strategy, cost estimate, timelines, requirements definition, and other aspects of the requirement;

· Become a more "informed buyer" with an enhanced understanding of industry offerings in the areas of interest, and; · Assess potential alternative solutions that would meet the requirement.

Request for Information

As expressed previously, this RFI is entirely optional and is not a pre-qualification for procurement, nor a prerequisite for participation in any future Request For Proposal (RFP) from PWGSC.

If suppliers would like to provide feedback based on the information expressed in this RFI, the following points are provided as a guideline.

1. Please explain how industry currently provides this service/commodity commercially and for other government navies. How is payment structured and how does the typical financial transaction take place? Is there an administration fee based on the amount of fuel required? A set fee or a %? Who is responsible for hoses, fittings/couplings, hose handling, cranes/gantry ? etc.

2. Please provide current pricing structures for this service. Keeping in mind that the government's mandate is to provide 'value for money' and obtaining 'fair and reasonable' pricing. How will suppliers guarantee that the best price (or at least 'fair and reasonable' pricing) has been obtained for each requirement? Can pricing be competed in an effective and timely manner?

3. What is a reasonable turn-around time from fuelling request to delivery? Are there any industry norms? How does a typical transaction transpire - steps, exchanges, communication norms, who (brokers or traders) is involved, what ports are serviced ? etc. One contract per zone or one contract to provide coverage for all zones in Appendix B?

4. A listing of typical port visits where DND could request fuelling is attached for information only; this is not an all-inclusive listing.

PWGSC reserves the right to pose questions to the vendors providing submissions.

This PWGSC office (Halifax, Nova Scotia) provides procurement services to the public in English.

Appendix A: Requirement Description

The Contractor is to supply naval distillate fuel and arrange for delivery on an as and when required basis on behalf of the Royal Canadian Navy when deployed in areas defined in Appendix B and other existing fuelling options are not utilized. The Contractor is to provide goods and services as detailed in the order request issued by the DND representative.

When requested, the Contractor is required to supply naval distillate fuel to the Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps of the United States of America (USA) in accordance with existing agreements between the Crown and the USA

The fuel supplied by the Contractor must conform to the latest issue of the CGSB standard for naval distillate fuel, unless otherwise specified by the DND representative. In the event that a new CGSB standard is released prior to the order and is in conflict with the specification noted above, the new CGSB standard shall apply.

A Contractor guarantee that the fuel will have a maximum Filter Plugging Tendency (FPT) of 1.56, or a final volume filtered of 250ml minimum when tested in accordance with the standard test method ASTM D2068, is not a prerequisite. However, on occasion, DND may require fuel that can pass this test. Consequently, DND may request a fuel sample from the Contractor before accepting delivery of the fuel. DND shall be responsible for performing the testing. Should the testing reveal that the fuel does not meet the FPT limits that DND requires, DND may opt not to proceed with the fuelling.

Appendix B: List of Potential Ports

ZONE 1

St. Pierre, France Miquelon, France Groennedal, Greenland Nuuk, Greenland Boston, Massachusetts New York City, New York Norfolk, Virginia Charleston, South Carolina Savannah, Georgia Mayport, Florida Port Everglades, Florida Key West, Florida Puerto Cortes, Honduras Colon, Panama Nassau, Bahamas Kingston, Jamaica Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Cartagena, Colombia Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela Buenes Aires, Argentina

ZONE 2

Reykjavik, Iceland Belfast, Ireland Dublin, Ireland Glasgow, Scotland Faslane, England Greenoch, England Plymouth, England Portsmouth, England Lisbon, Portugal Brest, France Antwerp, Belgium Zeebrugge, Belgium Amsterdam, Netherlands Den Helder, Netherlands Hamburg, Germany Kiel, Germany Aarhus, Denmark Copenhagen, Denmark Gdynia, Poland Klaipeda, Lithuania Tallin, Estonia Helsinki, Finland Stockholm, Sweden Bergen, Norway Haakonsvern, Norway Trondheim, Norway

ZONE 3

Ponta Delgada, Azores Funchal, Madeira Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Island of Gran Canaria Gibraltar, UK Cartagena, Spain Malaga, Spain Palma De Majorca, Spain Rota, Spain Toulon, France Augusta Bay, Italy Civitavecchia, Italy Naples, Italy Cagliari, Sardinia Catania, Sicily Valletta, Malta Souda Bay, Crete Istanbul, Turkey Aksaz, Turkey Limassol, Cyprus Acaba, Jordan Haifa, Israel Suez Canal, Egypt Alexandra, Egypt Port Said, Egypt Djibouti, Djibouti Muscat, Oman Salalah, Oman Dubai, United Arab Emirates Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates Doha, Qatar Manama, Bahrain Kuwait City, Kuwait Mumbai, India Mombasa, Kenya Simons Town, Cape Town, South Africa Casablanca, Morocco Delivery Date: 27/02/2013

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.