[Protest of Coast Guard Solicitation for Materials and Repair Services]

A firm protested a Coast Guard solicitation for ship repair services, contending that the Coast Guard was using outdated data to determine the rates for moving cutters to and from prospective shipyards. GAO held that: (1) the Coast Guard did not explain why it could not adjust the rates in the solicitation to make them as accurate as reasonably possible, even if such a correction is not applied nationwide; and (2) the solicitation did not have a rational basis for the Coast Guard to determine whether award to one firm versus another would result in a lower cost to the government. Accordingly, the protest was sustained, and GAO recommended that the protester be reimbursed for its protest costs.