GAO denies bid protest of waterways commerce cutter award

Image: GAO

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has rejected a bid protest filed by Steiner Construction Company, Inc., a small business of Bayou La Batre, Alabama, against the continued performance of a contract awarded to Birdon America, Inc. under solicitation No. 70Z02321RPRT00300, issued as a small business set-aside by the Department of Homeland Security, United States Coast Guard (USCG) for the design and production of 27 vessels for its waterways commerce cutter program.

Reporting its rejection of the bid protest GAO says that Steiner Construction “contends that USCG’s decision to permit Birdon to continue performance of the contract is unreasonable and violates Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requirements to either terminate the contract or not exercise further contract options.”

Steiner filed the protest after the Small Business Administration (SBA) Area Office’s initial determination that the awardee was an eligible small business for purposes of the procurement was subsequently vacated.

GAO says the protest is dismissed “for failure to state a valid basis of protest where the protest relies on an inapplicable Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) section and fails to demonstrate that the agency has violated a procurement statute or regulation.”

• Download the full GAO decision HERE