[19] The settlement agreement was signed on the Forest Services behalf by its AQM Director, who was the head of the contracting activity. Id. To the extent the agency believed an urgent need for large airtanker services would justify a noncompetitive 9-year contract, there is no analysis or explanation in the record demonstrating that this is so.[38]. The legendary Martin Mars water bombers owned by Coulson Aviation may take to the sky again. Rationale The rules do not support the issuance of a sole source award based on the fact that a firm did not win a competitive procurement or in exchange for a particular action, such as the withdrawal of a protest or [Freedom of Information Act] request. The fourth jet is awaiting delivery. Id. Earth Prop. Id. On June 3, RUS provided USDA with its financial viability review of Neptune. Neptune currently provides eight of nine Legacy airtankers (this includes the two BAe-146 aircraft provided by Neptune for the 2013 fire season). [14] Neptune had also previously made an advance payment request of $424,750 under its Legacy contract for cash-flow reasons (i.e., the lack of revenue in advance of the fire season). Neptune and the Forest Service had significant communications during the period between when Neptune learned it would not receive a NextGen contract and Neptunes receipt of a sole-source contract. . The oldest executive at OTC Markets Group, Inc. is AndrewWimpfheimer, 63, who is the Director. File: B-409356.2; B-409356.3; B-409356.4; B-409356.5; B-409356.6. Coulson Aviation Australia currently operates a number of New South Wales Rural Fire Service-owned aircraft andmanages all maintenance and fleet support systems for those RFS aircraft in Australia. Find company research, competitor information, contact details & financial data for Coulson Aviation of Port Alberni, BC. . . at 700. at 2; Tab 146, Neptune CEO Email to FAM, Sept. 23, 2013; Tab 147, FAM Email to Forest Service Chief, Oct. 4, 2013. 4. Derek Heyes Photo. [22] AR, Tab 32, Forest Service Letter to Neptune, Aug. 26, 2013, at 2. On 6 February 2023, at 12:08 pm, the aircraft involved took off from the Busselton Margaret River Airport on the first of three missions that day to respond to a fire near Hopetoun. One such example was the difference in Neptunes revenue projections detailed above. Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla. Those plans fell through, but the plane may still find its way to a museum. Coulson Aviation operates the only aerial firefighting fleet in the world consisting of both fixed-wing and Type 1 rotary-wing aircraft. . Tr. 18, 2014, at 9-10, 21; see also Tr. 3304(a)(3), and will comply with all related statutory and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requirements, including, but not limited to, CICA, and FAR 6.303-6.305. Agency Post-Hearing Comments, Mar. Our pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, and logistics professionals are highly experienced individuals in the aviation industry. [17] The RUS later prepared a more formal response regarding Neptunes financial stability, but again, merely accepted the financial projections as submitted by Neptune without determining their validity. [18] AR, Tab 18, Neptune Settlement Agreement, June 6, 2013. [29] Id. These specific C550s were originally modified and equipped with military fire-control radar, sophisticated infrared cameras, custom instrument panels and law enforcement communication packages. at 657-693. Built as. With our proprietary technology, multiple aircraft types, and highly experienced attack crews we can fight fires on multiple continents simultaneously. The protesters should submit their certified claims for costs, detailing the time expended and costs incurred, directly to the contracting agency within 60days after receipt of this decision. 2020 Coulson Aviation is awarded a 5 year aerial firefighting contract for their Boeing 737 FIRELINER aircraft by the United States Forest Service (USFS). . The NextGen large airtankers are intended to replace the Forest Services use of Legacy large airtankers, which are generally much older, slower, and less reliable aircraft. Tr. Tr. [26] AR, Jan. 31, 2014, at 16 n.14. Rather, the ASA believed there existed a professional disagreement between her view and his regarding the matter, and that the SPEs procurement expertise did not extend to understanding the Forest Services firefighting mission. at 464. Coulson Aviation (USA) Inc.; 10 Tanker Air Carrier, LLC; Minden Air Corp. The company will do the same . Coulson Aviation Australia | 3,766 followers on LinkedIn. 41 U.S.C. . 3553(d)(3)(A), Neptunes protest triggered a stay of the NextGen contract awards pending our resolution of the protest. Aircraft capable of meeting these standards and requirements are not readily available and would take a considerable amount of time to be developed and operationally ready for service. AR, Tab 49, J&A, Dec.9, 2013, at 4. They take very good care of their people. Pursuant to the FAR, the head of a contracting activity only has the authority to approve noncompetitive awards of up to $62.5 million. Prior to OTC Markets Group, he was a trader and portfolio manager at Carr Securities Corporation, an institutional broker-dealer and market maker. This redacted version has been approved for public release. . As relevant here, the settlement agreement stated that: the Forest Service will award the Contract using noncompetitive procedures, pursuant to 41 U.S.C. at480. On its third mission, it took off at 3:32 pm. In sum, while the agency may not have entered into a settlement agreement promising to disregard applicable procurement statutes and regulations, the agencys subsequent decision to award a sole-source contract to Neptune so as to comply with the terms of the settlement agreement and avoid a Neptune-threatened lawsuit was without a reasonable basis. [6] Although the agency considered these communications to be clarifications rather than discussions, a number of offerors were questioned about substantive issues, and their responses provided major revisions to their proposals. Neptunes CEO was quite familiar with the FAM Director and other agency officials, as the CEO had been the Forest Services AQM Director until his retirement in December 2010. Our Office confirmed the withdrawal of Neptunes protest and closed the file without rendering a decision on the protests merits. Neptune subsequently withdrew its request before any advance payment was made, stating that the company no longer needed the advance payment. 41 U.S.C. at 53. The newest addition to our fleet are the Coulson modified 737 FireLiner aircraft. [2] Large airtankers can carry 1,800-8,000 gallons of fire retardant. Although the J&A supported an award of two NextGen large airtankers for up to 9 years at a total estimated cost of $141,774,740, the contract actually awarded to Neptune permitted (by mutual agreement) the addition of two more airtankers to the first CLIN and three more airtankers to the second CLIN in each contract year. Tr. The protesters generally do not dispute that the Forest Service requires additional large airtankers to perform its firefighting mission. In 2017, the number of [large airtankers] under contract to the Forest Service will decrease from 16 to 7, with the expiration of the Legacy contracts, unless additional NextGen airtankers are procured from the current NextGen contractors. Tr. Required fields are marked *. . Consequently, the Forest Services belief that Neptune is a vital source, as documented in the J&A, is based upon Neptunes supply of Legacy large airtankers, which the NextGen contract awards were designed to ultimately replace. Tr. Although the aircrafts days as an operational water bomber have passed, Coulsons Hawaii Mars aircraft might take to the air again to provide aerial sightseeing tours and could also hit the airshow circuit one day in the future. While the agency argues the fact that other contractors may have airtankers available to perform Neptunes contract to be irrelevant here, AR, Jan. 31, 2014, at 52, we fail to see how the agency can reasonably find Neptune to be a vital source without accurately considering all sources. Experience. On 6 February 2023, a Boeing 737-300 owned by Coulson Aviation and used as an air tanker crashed in the Fitzgerald River National Park in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia while fighting multiple fires. 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. Based upon on our review of the record, including the J&A, its supporting documentation, the agencys submissions in response to these protests, and the testimony of the agencys representatives at the hearing held at our Office, the agency has failed to demonstrate that Neptune requires a sole-source contract to remain a source of large airtanker services for the Forest Service. These firms are building both capacity and employees skills. The SPE then asked FI to perform a comparison of its conclusions with those of RUS. | Overview Coulson . Only two of the five NextGen contractors are now in compliance with the contract and providing operational airtankers. One exception to this requirement is where an agency determines that it is necessary to maintain a vital source of supply for industrial mobilization. A global leader in aerial firefighting, emergency personnel transport and other industrial heavy lift operations. See York Intl Corp., supra; Department of the Army--Recon., B-237742.2, June 11, 1990, 90-1 CPD 546. Maintain Capacity and Employee Skills - The [Forest Service] currently has a supplier base of five firms on the Next Gen contract. Click on the button below to send an email to our team and we will get to it as soon as possible. Only supported aircraft types that are active with this airline are included in the calculations. Coulson GroupCoulson AviationCoulson Ice BlastCoulson Unical, Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgCgo-cpQxk, Coulson Aviation Australia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgCgo-cpQxk). 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. The company was formerly known as Pink OTC Markets Inc. and changed its name to OTC Markets Group Inc. in January 2011. 3. The USDA does not dispute that its consideration of a noncompetitive award to Neptune was motivated by its promise of a sole-source contract in exchange for Neptune withdrawing its bid protest and thereby ending the CICA stay that then precluded the Forest Service from fielding NextGen large airtankers for the 2013 fire season. 15, 2013. The protesters argue that the agency put the cart before the horse, and agreed to settle Neptunes protest before properly determining that the promised sole-source award complied with CICA. By contrast, Neptune did not provide any detail with its cost projections to RUS, so it is unclear if fuel is included, or if government reimbursement is considered. Id. See 41 U.S.C. In this regard, the protesters claim that the agencys actions have been motivated by the desire to fulfill the terms of a settlement agreement and to avoid a lawsuit by Neptune for allegedly breaching that agreement. Neptune Comments, Feb.24, 2014, at 3-5, citing AR, Tab 150, Neptune Financial Assumptions, May 29, 2013 ([b]ased on denial of contracts under the Next Generation Airtanker Services Solicitation, Neptune is now faced with extinction after the expiration of the Legacy Contracts). Gen. LEXIS 735 at *12. OTC Markets Group Inc. engages in the financial market business in the United States and internationally. The NRE Undersecretary also stated that, insofar as USDA counsel had determined that awarding a sole-source contract here was permitted and Neptune had airtankers available, he strongly recommended the award of two NextGen aircraft to Neptune for up to 10 years. Consequently, the SPE refused to approve the sole-source award to Neptune. See AR, Tab49, Neptune J&A, Dec. 9, 2013, attach. Specifically, the ASA stated that he wanted to be sure that we could ensure that the Forest Service would be able to meet its mission of responding to forest fires for the 2014 season. [20] Id. AR, Feb. 19, 2014, at 17. The direct supervisors/managers are open door and good listeners. 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. As the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of OTC Markets, the total compensation of R Coulson at OTC Markets is $924,940. On May 6, the Forest Service announced its intent to make the following awards: AR, Tab 70, NextGen Contract Award Abstract, May 6, 2013. Coulson Aviation (USA) Inc.; 10 Tanker Air Carrier, LLC., B-406920 et al., Sept. 7, 2012. [11] AR, Tab 11, Neptune Email to Contracting Officer, May 9, 2013. In a subsequent meeting conducted by the SPE, RUS employees generally agreed with the FI findings and conclusions. This will be the third converted 737 for Coulson; the first two are identified as T-137 and T-138. Rather, the record demonstrates that the sole-source contract--promised by the Forest Service in exchange for Neptunes withdrawal of an earlier bid protest--was without a reasonable basis. Thereafter, the agency decided to take corrective action by reopening the competition. As the Australian business arm of global company Coulson Aviation, Coulson Aviation Australia also supports other Australian States with the provision of large aircraft and experienced team members. LouisA.Chiarella, Esq., and GuyR.Pietrovito, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. Disclaimer. . [21] AR, Tab 29, FI Financial Analysis, Aug. 2, 2013, at1. . at 138, 235. Rather, the record demonstrates, as acknowledged by the agency, that Neptune is presently financially viable and is expected to remain financially viable through the term of its Legacy airtanker contract (2017). at480-85, 525-28; AR, Tab 149, SPE Briefing Paper for ASA, Oct. 7, 2013, at 1-7. T-137 was purchased in May 2019 by the NSW Rural Fire Service along with the two Coulson Citation II C550 support jets. In accordance with the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA), 31U.S.C. R. Cromwell Coulson serves as President, Chief Executive Officer, Director of the Company. at 451-52. 3301(a)(1). at 658. 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. The Forest Service also made a Legacy contract award to Minden for one P2V aircraft. [12] AR, Tab 71, Neptune Protest (B-406920.8), May 16, 2013. . FAR 6.302-3(a)(2)(i). [17] Id. . Options offered by the Forest Service to Neptune included: (1) adding two additional BAe-146 aircraft to Neptunes Legacy contract (beyond the eight large airtankers then being provided), AR, Tab 32, Forest Service Letter to Neptune, Aug. 26, 2013, at 2; and (2) offering Neptune a sole-source contract of such size that it could be approved below the level of the SPE (i.e., less than $62.5 million). Tr. Noncompetitive awards should be limited to only what is needed to achieve the objective, in this case to maintain a vital source of supply . Various internal meetings also took place among senior Forest Service and USDA officials, including USDAs Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment (NRE Undersecretary) and the Assistant Secretary for Administration (ASA),[23] in an attempt to resolve the Neptune matter. [t]o maintain a . at 45. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Previously operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the fast, light corporate jets flew for the past 40 years tracking, detecting and intercepting illegal air smugglers attempting to cross the U.S. border. . at 4. and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted. FAR 6.303-2(b)(3), (5), (8). We find it both premature and unreasonable for USDA to determine that Neptune requires a sole-source contract now in order to maintain Neptune as a source of large airtanker services after 2017. Although not stated in the award abstract, based on all aircraft and performance period options, the total amount per CLIN was approximately $350-$400 million. Purchasing six Boeing 737-300s from Southwest Airlines back in 2017, Coulsons B737 FireLiner is now operational and has fought fires in Australia and the U.S. with great success. Accordingly, on June 21 the Forest Service informed the SPE of the settlement agreement that the agency had entered with Neptune, and requested that she execute a justification and approval (J&A) for the sole-source award. In fact, there is simply no record--in the J&A or otherwise--of any assessment by the agency of Neptunes long-term viability. The RUS also questioned whether Neptune had the ability to modify the payment terms of any of its existing long terms debts. Coulson Protest, Dec. 20, 2013, at 7-8; Coulson Protest, Feb. 10, 2014, at 4. Id. 16, 2013. Test Registration. 2020 18, 2014, at 28. . On March 27, 2013, the Forest Service awarded Neptune a Legacy contract for five P2V aircraft for 5-years, and for one P2V and one BAe-146[7] aircraft for a base year with four option years, at a total estimated price of $180,252,600. The agency anticipates issuing a similar contract modification for the 2014 fire season. Last updated: 1 February 2023 at 11:00am EST. AR, Tab 67, NextGen RFP, at B-1. AR, Jan. 31, 2014, at 32. 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. 7. 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