On August 26, the Forest Service informed Neptune that the SPE would not approve the sole-source contract contemplated by the parties settlement agreement, insofar as the financial analysis of the additional documents provided by Neptune indicated that the company was financially viable without such a contract. Neptune then withdrew its bid protest (the parties settlement agreement was not provided to our Office). 3304(a)(3)(A) (2006), which provides for a noncompetitive award to a particular source to maintain that supplier for a national emergency or to achieve industrial mobilization. Outdoor Venture Corp., B-405423, Oct. 25, 2011, 2011 CPD 241 at 2; Ridgeline Indus., Inc., B-402105, Jan. 7, 2010, 2010 CPD 22 at 3. Neptune subsequently protested to our Office on May 16 challenging all of the NextGen contract awards. This time the air tanker descended two times over the fire zone, crashing at 4:14 pm, while executing the second descent in the Fitzgerald River National Park. 936 talking about this. In this regard, the agency maintains that it cannot tolerate any further delay in acquiring additional NextGen airtankers for the 2014 fire season. [19] See FAR 6.304(a)(4). . [19] The settlement agreement was signed on the Forest Services behalf by its AQM Director, who was the head of the contracting activity. Neptune would undoubtedly prefer the financial security that would accompany a long-term NextGen contract, but this is simply not the standard by which an agency is permitted to make a noncompetitive award for industrial mobilization purposes. T: +255 76 898 8640. FI also found that Neptune had based its revenue projections for the same period on the use of seven P2V aircraft, rather than six P2V and one BAe-146 aircraft (and the higher BAe-146 rates) as specified by the terms of the Legacy contract. . at 477-78; AR, Tab 36, AQM Director Email, Oct. 30, 2013. AR, Tab 43, NRE Undersecretary Memo to ASA, Nov. 26, 2013, at 1-2. See Tr. at 466-67. LouisA.Chiarella, Esq., and GuyR.Pietrovito, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. For example, our Office upheld a protest of a solesource award where an agency justified its failure to conduct a full and open competition on the basis that it had entered a settlement agreement promising the award of a contract in exchange for abandoning a threatened contract claim. at 691, 696. Nine offerors, including Neptune, Coulson, 10 Tanker, and Minden, submitted proposals by the February 15, 2012, closing date. These specific C550s were originally modified and equipped with military fire-control radar, sophisticated infrared cameras, custom instrument panels and law enforcement communication packages. Id. [32] While there is both documentation and testimony suggesting some USDA and Forest Service officials believed the sole-source award here was based on urgency (i.e., having enough large airtankers available for the 2014 fire season, see Tr. However, FI also expressed its opinion to the SPE that Neptune remained viable (without a sole-source award) through the end of its Legacy contract (2017). AG-024B-C-14-9000 to Neptune Aviation Services, Inc., of Missoula, Montana, by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Forest Service, for next generation (NextGen) large airtanker services for wildland firefighting support. [3] The NextGen solicitation was intended to be the primary, but not the only, means by which the Forest Service met its modernization strategy goal of 18-28 modern large airtankers. He received his BBA from Southern Methodist University in 1989 and holds an OPM from Harvard Business School. In accordance with the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA), 31U.S.C. nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited, and [a] description of the market research conducted . at 439-41. In a post to Facebook, Coulson Aviation (USA) named captain Ian McBeth, first officer Paul Hudson and flight engineer Rick DeMorgan Jr as the aerial firefighting crew who died in the crash of the . On June 6, the Forest Service and Neptune entered into a written settlement agreement, under which the agency agreed to award Neptune a sole-source contract for two NextGen large airtankers in exchange for Neptune withdrawing its protest (and thereby ending the CICA stay of the NextGen contract awards). They do not include all outstanding orders as reported by aircraft manufacturers. [7] Although awarded under the Legacy contract, the BAe-146 is a modern large airtanker (Neptune proposed the same type of aircraft in response to the NextGen RFP, albeit with a more advanced version of the fire retardant tank system). In reaching its conclusions, FI found that Neptune had based its revenue projections for years 2-5 of the Legacy contract on the base-year rates instead of the higher, option-year rates set forth in the contract. Only supported aircraft types that are active with this airline are included in the calculations. [6] We conducted a hearing there to receive testimony concerning the agencys conduct of the procurement. Coulson Aviation is the first company in the world to convert Boeing's 737 commercial airliners into FireLiner tankers. [4] In resolving this protest, GAO conducted a 2-day hearing to receive testimony from various agency officials involved in this procurement. Robert K. Stewart, Jr., Esq., Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, for Neptune Aviation Services, Inc., the intervenor. A stand down may be undertaken when the operator believes there is something which might distract the pilots from safely completing their missions. According to data from FlightRadar24.com, the aircraft climbed to 29,000 feet en route to assist firefighting efforts in the Fitzgerald River National Park. at 735; Agency Post-Hearing Comments, Mar. Your email address will not be published. at79-80. Tr. First, RUSs conclusion, that Neptune needed a NextGen contract to remain viable, was based entirely on unverified financial projections as provided by Neptune. As stated above, our review of an agencys decision to conduct a noncompetitive procurement focuses on the adequacy of the rationale and conclusions set forth in the J&A. As the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of OTC Markets, the total compensation of R Coulson at OTC Markets is $924,940. See e.g., AR, Tab 84, Forest Service Letter to Aero-Flite, Dec. 12, 2013. [a] description of the supplies or services required to meet the agencys needs (including the estimated value), [a] demonstration that the . Id. at 469-70; AR, Tab 145, FAM Email to USDA, Sept. 3, 2013. See AR, Tab 54, Contract No. Estimated reading time 5 minutes, 20 seconds. [31] The USDA contends, citing to our decision in Merlin Intl, Inc., B-310611, Jan. 2, 2008, 2008 CPD 66, that a protester is not an interested party to challenge a sole-source award unless it can meet all of the agencys requirements at the time of the sole-source determination. . The FireLiner conversion is scheduled to be completed in May 2021 in time for the next fire season in North America. Moreover, had the agency used this separate authority as the basis for its noncompetitive contract award, the agency would have been required to request offers from as many potential sources as is practicable under the circumstances. Coulson Aviation Usa doesn't have any recent trademark applications, indicating Coulson Aviation Usa is focusing on its existing business rather than expanding into new products and markets. First, the SPE and her staff familiarized themselves with the NextGen procurement and the Forest Services requirements for large airtankers generally. File: B-409356.2; B-409356.3; B-409356.4; B-409356.5; B-409356.6. [37] Moreover, while FIs conclusions were limited to the period through 2017, at no time did the agency conduct any other analysis to determine Neptunes financial viability after 2017. . at 32. Find company research, competitor information, contact details & financial data for Coulson Aviation of Port Alberni, BC. [12] AR, Tab 71, Neptune Protest (B-406920.8), May 16, 2013. . [vital] supplier . AR, Tab67, NextGen RFP, atB-11. Specifically, the record contains many letters and emails between Neptune and the Forest Service during this period, and reflects a number of conversations between Neptunes Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Forest Services Director of Fire and Aviation Management (FAM)[13] and Director of Acquisition Management (AQM). As detailed above, the agency had two financial analyses of Neptune conducted after the company alleged it would go out of business without a NextGen contract award. Subsequently, the Forest Service realized that the sole-source contract promised to Neptune would require the approval of USDAs senior procurement executive (SPE). Experience. The FireLiner conversion is scheduled to be completed in May 2021 in time for the next fire season in North America. at 6-7. 1 The average fleet age is based on our own calculations and may differ from other figures. In addition, it offers OTC Disclosure & News Service for publishing and distributing data, news, and financials; Real-Time Level 2 Quotes that gives investors access to real-time bid- ask information and depth of book; Blue Sky Monitoring Service for analysis, review, and guidance about a company's compliance with the United States securities laws; and Virtual Investor Conferences, which allows issuers to communicate and engages with investors, as well as operates the OTCQX Best Market OTCQB Venture Market, and Pink Open Market. Accordingly, while the agency contends that the J&A did not rely on the FI financial analysis to assess Neptunes long-term viability, neither did the agency rely on any other information when making such an assessment. During a visit by Skies to the water bomber base at Sproat Lake, B.C., two of the four Hawaii Mars engines were receiving maintenance. AR, Tab63, Neptune Email to Contracting Officer, June 26, 2013. 3304(a), it is required to execute a written J&A with sufficient facts and rationale to support the use of the cited authority. FAR 6.303-2 identifies information required for an agencys justification of a noncompetitive procurement, stating, among other things, that the J&A shall include . Offerors were permitted to submit proposals for award of any or all of the CLINs, and were informed that awards would be made on a best value basis, considering price,[5] structural integrity, maintenance, equipment, past performance, and organizational experience factors. [34] AR, Feb. 19, 2014, at 3-7. Coulson Aviation (USA) Inc., of Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada, 10 Tanker Air Carrier, LLC, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Minden Air Corp., of Minden, Nevada, protest the noncompetitive award of contract No. There are 6 older and 13 younger executives at OTC Markets. Canada V9Y 8E9. 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