1. Jim St John Science and Technology Corporation Polar Technology Office

2. My Background Naval architect specializing in ice-going ships Involved in RVIB and ASRV procurements for NSF from the start and PRV development Involved in the design, spec development, and procurement support of Juniper Class & Keeper Class buoy tenders, USCGC Healy, and USCGC Mackinaw Involved in various oil development projects supporting ship design, spec development, and procurement support

3. Ship Acquisition is a Political Process In order to sell the program you need to: Establish the Need Know the Cost – Ships and the infrastructure to support them are expensive The need is typically identified at the operational level researchers using the ship managers of current science operations Senior management buy-in at every level is needed to be successful

4. Ship Acquisition Process Typically a new ship is sought. It involves: Designers A shipyard And, if a charter, owners and operators. Procurement evaluation involves: Management Technical Science Cost

5. Comments Obtaining a good product at a fair price requires competition and good planning. Procurements are expensive to bid – fund some of the ship design up front Provide a longer charter Both of these ideas lower cost and stimulate more competition.

6. Fund some of the ship design up front Develop the design beyond a specification Develop drawings and get science community input When the design is developed, conduct model tests to ensure that the design will meet the major performance criteria This approach better ensures the scientists get what they want and reduces the risk that the ship won’t meet the desired performance goals. This approach is not a contract design package and therefore still allows the bidder room to innovate. However, it reduces the risk of not meeting the performance criteria by giving him a good baseline. We believe this is potentially a least cost solution.

7. Provide a longer charter Make the charter the expected life of the ship, typically 25 year design life. This should lower the annual charter cost because the ship construction cost can be amortized over a longer time frame. Shorter charter periods that have to be competed again over the life of the ship generate little competition because of the cost to compete and the difficulty competing with an incumbent. Shorter charter periods can result in higher rates if the incumbent determines there is no serious competition.

8. Questions?