Transportation Department seeks contractor to manage military supply ship system
Gettyimages.com/Yuichiro Chino
By
Nick Wakeman
The Maritime Administration launches market research for a data management contract for the 60-vessel Ready Reserve Force.
The Transportation Department has kicked off the market research phase for a potential future contract to run the system that manages the military’s supply ships.
Known as the Ready Reserve Force, the fleet is comprised of 60 commercial vessels that the Maritime Administration can use to rapidly deploy military forces around the globe.
The fleet moves equipment and the initial resupply of forces anywhere in the world, according to a request for information notice posted Monday.
The management system’s software is a customized version of the American Bureau of Shipping’s Nautical Systems Enterprise, which is a client-server and MySQL-based database application.
The RFI is not clear on whether the management system will shift to a cloud-based infrastructure or managed service. The scope of work says the agency wants a contractor to act as the data manager and ensure consistency in vessel hierarchy and configuration.
As a data manager, the contractor will manage data imports and exports. That includes compliance with protocols and policies, proper coding of equipment and data validation.
The agency is looking for a very quick turnaround with comments due Saturday, May 3.
The RFI says the agency is still trying to decide if this should be a small business set-aside or a full-and-open competition.
For the project to move forward, the Maritime Administration will need explicit permission of the Department of Government Efficiency and/or the Office of the Secretary of Transportation.