MarAd extends deadline for MSP product tanker proposals

MarAd extends deadline for MSP product tanker proposals    The U.S. Maritime Administration will extend its deadline for receiving competitive proposals to build five U.S.-flag product tank vessels for both commercial and military use.
   The initial deadline for proposals had been set for May 4, but two companies asked for a 45-day extension in order to provide MarAd with “competitive proposals that will present the best value to the government.” MarAd granted the 45-day extension for these so-called “Phase I” proposals.
   A third company asked MarAd to delay responses to its call for competitive proposals until funds are specifically appropriated for the product tanker program. The agency rejected this proposal, saying it could “seriously delay the implementation of the program.”
   Under the 2003 Maritime Security Act, Congress created the National Defense Tank Vessel Construction Assistance program, through which MarAd will provide financial help on up to 75 percent of the actual cost of approved vessel construction, depending on appropriations, but in no case more than $50 million per vessel.
   The size of the proposed product tank vessels may range between 35,000 and 60,000 deadweight tons.
   (For more information about the program, read the April American Shipper, pages 66-67.)