MarAd seeks bids to build U.S.-flag product tank vessels

MarAd seeks bids to build U.S.-flag product tank vessels    The U.S. Maritime Administration will begin taking competitive proposals from the American vessel operators and shipyards to build five U.S.-flag product tank vessels to operate for both commercial and military purposes.
   Under the 2003 Maritime Security Act, Congress established the National Defense Tank Vessel Construction Assistance program, through which MarAd will provide financial help of up to 75 percent of the actual cost of approved vessel construction, but in no case more than $50 million per vessel.
   The first five slots of the new 60-ship Maritime Security Program pool must be awarded to section 2 citizens that own and operate new U.S.-built product tank vessels. Congress has voiced concern about the lack of U.S.-flag tankers to transport jet fuel to war zones in the Middle East. During the start up of Operation Iraqi Freedom, U.S. forces chartered 26 double-hull product tankers, but only one was a documented U.S.-flag ship.
   “Any citizen of the United States or any shipyard in the United States may submit a proposal to the Maritime Administrator,” said MarAd in a notice of request published in the Feb. 20 Federal Register.
   The size of the proposed product tank vessels range between 35,000 and 60,000 deadweight tons. MarAd also said the ships must:
   * Meet the requirements of foreign commerce.
   * Be capable of carrying militarily useful petroleum products and be suitable for military purposes in times of war or national defense.
   * Meet the construction standards needed to be documented under U.S. laws.
   “The shipyard in which the vessel will be constructed must be determined to have the necessary capacity and expertise to successfully construct the proposed number and type of product tank vessels in a reasonable period of time,” MarAd said.
   For more details about this request for proposal, access on line: https://www.fedbizopps.gov or https://www.marad.dot.gov.