US Coast Guard starts tender process for remote biometrics capability

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a ‘sources sought’ tender for a ‘Biometrics at Sea System’ (BASS) to upgrade the Coast Guard’s remote identification capabilities when intercepting people with marine vessels.

BASS is the mobile capability used for identification within the Coast Guard’s Alien Migrant Interdiction Operations (AMIO) and Enforcement of Laws and Treaties (ELT) activities. It provides biometrics collection and matching for DHS officials in maritime and remote environments.

The request for information seeks to assess the marketplace and capabilities available, identify major risks the acquisition, and identify and mitigate barriers to competition. Critically, it will also identify prospective suppliers and any special status they hold, and determine what the industry needs to know to make its proposals.

The capability is in part intended to deter human trafficking, according to the posting.

System requirements for the system previously included the ability to collect biographic data, as well as fingerprints and photographs.

Questions are due by July 9, 2021.

The U.S. Coast Guard purchased 250 handheld devices with Integrated Biometrics’ fingerprint sensors in 2019.

Article Topics

biometric data  |  biometric identification  |  biometric matching  |  biometrics  |  Biometrics at Sea  |  data collection  |  Department of Homeland Security  |  DHS  |  remote biometrics  |  tender  |  U.S. Coast Guard