B-184888, FEB 24, 1976
Highlights
DIGEST: GAO WILL NOT PURSUE PROTEST WHERE ISSUES BECOME ACADEMIC BY PROTESTER'S WITHDRAWAL OF BID. WAS THE HIGH BIDDER FOR BOTH VESSELS. MARAD REJECTED ALL BIDS FOR THE VESSELS IN QUESTION BECAUSE THEY WERE UNREASONABLY LOW IN LIGHT OF MARAD'S DETERMINED MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE PRICE PER TON OF $35 AS MULTIPLIED BY THE DETERMINED WEIGHT OF EACH VESSEL. HUGO NEU SEEKS A DECISION AS TO WHETHER MARAD "*** WAS RIGHT OR WRONG IN THEIR ACTIONS AND ATTITUDE.". PD-X-998 HAVE BEEN RENDERED ACADEMIC. OUR OFFICE WILL NOT PURSUE THE MATTER FURTHER.
B-184888, FEB 24, 1976
DIGEST: GAO WILL NOT PURSUE PROTEST WHERE ISSUES BECOME ACADEMIC BY PROTESTER'S WITHDRAWAL OF BID.
HUGO NEU STEEL PRODUCTS, INC.:
ON JULY 16, 1975, THE MARITIME ADMINISTRATION (MARAD) ISSUED INVITATION FOR BIDS NO. PD-X-998 FOR THE SALE OF VARIOUS TYPES OF VESSELS, ALL OF WHICH THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE HAD DECLARED SURPLUS NATIONAL DEFENSE RESERVE FLEET VESSELS.
THE PROTEST INVOLVES TWO C2-S-B1 TYPE VESSELS, NAMELY THE S.S. ROLETTE (AKA-99) AND THE S.S. DIPHDA (AKA-59), OFFERED FOR SALE UNDER THE ABOVE SOLICITATION. HUGO NEU STEEL PRODUCTS, INC. (HUGO NEU), THE PROTESTER, WAS THE HIGH BIDDER FOR BOTH VESSELS, OFFERING $171,180 FOR THE S.S. ROLETTE AND $141,180 FOR THE S.S. DIPHDA. AFTER REVIEW OF THE BIDS RECEIVED, MARAD REJECTED ALL BIDS FOR THE VESSELS IN QUESTION BECAUSE THEY WERE UNREASONABLY LOW IN LIGHT OF MARAD'S DETERMINED MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE PRICE PER TON OF $35 AS MULTIPLIED BY THE DETERMINED WEIGHT OF EACH VESSEL, 5,600 TONS.
HUGO NEU PROTESTED THE REJECTION OF ITS BID AND REQUESTED THAT ITS BID BE REINSTATED AND AWARD MADE UNDER PD-X-998. HOWEVER, HUGO NEU SUBSEQUENTLY CITED SUBSTANTIAL DOWNWARD MARKET FLUCTUATIONS IN THE PRICE OF SCRAP METAL AND WITHDREW ITS BID. NOTWITHSTANDING THE WITHDRAWAL OF ITS BID, HUGO NEU SEEKS A DECISION AS TO WHETHER MARAD "*** WAS RIGHT OR WRONG IN THEIR ACTIONS AND ATTITUDE."
SINCE HUGO NEU NO LONGER DESIRES THE SHIPS AT THE PRICES IT ORIGINALLY BID, IT APPEARS THAT THE ISSUES RAISED BY THE PROTESTER RESPECTING ALLEGED DEFECTS IN INVITATION FOR BIDS NO. PD-X-998 HAVE BEEN RENDERED ACADEMIC. ACCORDINGLY, OUR OFFICE WILL NOT PURSUE THE MATTER FURTHER. COMPARE CENTRAL DATA PROCESSING, INC., B-183306, AUGUST 7, 1975, 75-2 CPD 89; MATANUSKA TELEPHONE ASSOCIATION, INC.; INTERIOR TELEPHONE COMPANY, B-179500, JULY 25, 1974, 74-2 CPD 55; PACIFIC ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS, INC., B-179633, FEBRUARY 12, 1975, 75-1 CPD 87.