Interim Science Vessel

Attestation of assurance

The fairness monitor (FM) hereby provides the unqualified assurance statement below concerning the Interim Science Vessel project request for information (RFI) phase.

It is our professional opinion that the RFI phase that we observed or monitored was carried out in a fair, open, and transparent manner.

Original signed by:

Project requirement

Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Consulting Inc. (RCGT) was engaged on May 17, 2022 as an FM to observe the Interim Science Vessel procurement process, issued by Public Works and Government Services Canada on behalf of the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), a Special Operating Agency of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) under bid solicitation F7013-220401/A. RCGT is an independent third party with respect to this activity.

This report covers the activities of the FM during the RFI phase, from May 17, 2022 continuing through to January 12, 2023.

The CCG is seeking information regarding a potential charter of an Interim Science Vessel to conduct the work previously performed by the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Hudson. The CCGS Hudson is at the end of its service life and its replacement vessel remains in construction.

The CCGS Hudson entered into service with the CCG in 1963 and has been a key platform for DFO’s oceanographic and hydrographic science program. The vessel is based at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

In 2010, the Government of Canada announced the National Shipbuilding Strategy to renew Canada’s federal fleet of combat and non-combat vessels. Included in this strategy was the plan to replace the CCGS Hudson with an Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV). The project was awarded to Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The CCGS Hudson has undergone repair and refits in recent years. The objective of this work was to prolong the service life of the vessel until the delivery of the OOSV. In November 2021, the CCGS Hudson had a failure of its starboard propulsion motor which placed the vessel out of service. Repairs would not be economical and further investment may not allow it to return to reliable service. On January 19, 2022, the CCG announced that the CCGS Hudson would be decommissioned. Since the replacement vessel, the OOSV, will not be delivered for a further period of time, the CCG is investigating the possibility of chartering an Interim Science Vessel to maintain the continuity of Canadian scientific research on the East coast.

We reviewed all of the information provided and observed all relevant activities.

This report includes:

• our attestation of assurance
• a summary of the scope and objectives of our assignment
• relevant observations from the activities undertaken

Fairness monitoring engagement and observations

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we:

• reviewed documents provided by the contracting authority (CA)
• monitored communications with proponents provided by the CA
• identified any potential fairness-related matters to the CA
• ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate

Request for information phase

The following activities were performed by the FM during this phase:

• performed a review of the RFI from May 20 to 24, 2022
  • questions and comments were discussed
• received the first draft of the RFI on May 20, 2022
  • the RFI was subsequently posted on CanadaBuys on May 30, 2022
• 1 amendment to the RFI was issued from May 30, 2022, to July 18, 2022

The RFI closed on July 18, 2022, at 14:00 Eastern daylight time. Seven submissions were received to the RFI.

Following the RFI, it was determined by the CCG not to proceed with a request for proposal process for the requirement. Respondents were notified by email on January 5, 2023 of the decision.

Reference documents

The documents related to solicitation F7013-220401/A are available on CanadaBuys or through the project office.