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Memo to SIU members (9/27)

Following is the text of a memo sent Sept. 23 to SIU crews from SIU Vice President Contracts Augie Tellez: As you are all aware by now, last month MSC awarded the contract for the operation of the Patriot Services 11-ship LMSR fleet to AMSEA and 3PSC, LLC – two SIU-contracted companies. Since that announcement the unions employed aboard those ships that will subsequently be replaced by SIU crews (and AMO officers) created a storm of controversy over the award of the contract. In what they believe will be a successful effort to overturn the award, they have initiated a public relations and political campaign to bring pressure on the process. In many instances they are taking credit for the normal course of events in these matters. I will try to set the record straight as follows. Because two of the ships were reserved as a small business set aside, the award was split between these two companies. AMSEA was awarded 9 of the ships and 3PSC, LLC was awarded the two reserved ships. Initially the two-ship award was delayed because Ocean Shipholdings Inc., an SIU-contracted company, submitted inquiries regarding 3PSC’s status as a small business and not because “there was a problem with the bid” as stated by others. Recently the small business status of the company was upheld; therefore this issue has been settled. As with any MSC award, the outgoing company is debriefed and specific items are discussed. Patriot Services had their debriefing last week and has decided to file an official protest of the MSC award with the U.S. General Accounting Office. The company is the only entity with standing to file the protest. This protest comes as no surprise and should shock no one; it was expected. The company is facing a loss of approximately 30% of their business and not to protest would be commercially irresponsible. Once a GAO protest is filed an automatic stop order for moving forward on the award is issued and effectively delays the implementation of the nine ship AMSEA award. Because of this protest MSC is faced with a dilemma. The vessels still need to be operated while the protest is pending, a process that can take months, which means MSC may need to extend the agreement with Patriot for that period. Much will be said about how political pressure was brought to bear on the matter, and how all the controversy generated by the unions is responsible for this recent development. But this is standard operating procedure in this type of situation. The SIU will continue to monitor the situation and fully expect to man these ships when the General Accounting Office upholds the award to AMSEA. Until that time we will continue to operate as always. We cannot afford to be distracted by this situation. The conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan continues and we still have much to do. The most important mission is for us to continue to do our jobs to make sure that our armed forces are provided the full support they deserve. We are committed to meeting our obligations to both the commercial and military sectors of our industry, and with your continued support we are sure we will succeed. ###