[Requests for Reconsideration of Protests of MARAD Contract Awards]

A firm requested reconsideration of its denied protest against Maritime Administration (MARAD) contract awards for ships, MARAD requested modification of the recommendation that it revise its solicitation and reopen negotiations, and two firms requested reimbursement of their bid preparation costs. GAO had held that: (1) MARAD unreasonably evaluated the successful protesters' bids, since it failed to follow the solicitation's evaluation criteria; (2) the two successful protesters were entitled to reimbursement of their bid preparation costs; and (3) MARAD reasonably evaluated the unsuccessful protester's bid and determined that it was technically unacceptable. In their requests for reconsideration: (1) the unsuccessful protester contended that MARAD failed to follow the solicitation's evaluation criteria; and (2) MARAD contended that the recommendation to revise the solicitation and reopen negotiations was impracticable. GAO held that: (1) the unsuccessful protester did not provide any new evidence that warranted reversal or modification of its original decision; (2) it would not consider the cost or disruption to MARAD of revising the solicitation and reopening negotiations and would not modify the recommendation; (3) one protester's acceptance of a contract award for ships from another agency did not make it ineligible for reimbursement of its protest costs; and (4) the successful protesters were entitled to reimbursement of their bid preparation costs even if MARAD declined to implement the recommendation. Accordingly, the prior decision was affirmed.