USCG Announces Deepwater Decision

The U.S. Coast Guard announced a 43-month award term extension of the performance-based contract for its Integrated Deepwater System (Deepwater) fleet modernization and recapitalization program. Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS), a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, received notification of the award today. The performance period of the award term will begin at completion of the base period in June 2007 and end in January 2011. The initial contract specified a five-year base period of performance, with potential for five additional award terms of up to 60 months each, for a maximum of 30 years. The announcement by Rear Adm. Patrick M. Stillman, Award Term Determining Official (ATDO) and former Deepwater Program Executive Officer, assures ICGS the sole source opportunity to respond to a forthcoming Request for Proposal (RFP) for work expected to be contracted during the award term. However, Denise L. Randolph, Chief of Contracts for the Deepwater program, noted "announcement of award term length does not mandate any changes to the existing contract, nor does it equate to any specific contract dollar value." The government's decision regarding the length of the award term was reached following an extensive Coast Guard review of the joint venture's performance during the first 42 months of the base period. In evaluating ICGS' performance, members of an Award Term Evaluation Board (ATEB) considered the contractually-defined criteria of operational effectiveness, total ownership cost and customer satisfaction. Performance monitors provided data and reports for board members' consideration. The ATEB's deliberations culminated in early February in a recommendation to Rear Adm. Stillman in his capacity as ATDO. Asked to characterize this programmatic milestone, Stillman said: "The award term decision represents an appropriate step forward in the maturity of the Deepwater contract. It offers the opportunity for an additional 43 months of implementation of the systems approach to recapitalize the Coast Guard. This will be based upon successful negotiations with ICGS and agreement upon fair and reasonable pricing. This opportunity is essential for the Coast Guard to fulfill its maritime security and safety responsibilities in support of the mandates of Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense."