Provision of Autonomous Underwater Glider Platforms

The National Oceanography Centre intends to directly award a contract for the supply of autonomous underwater glider platforms and associated equipment to support oceanographic research and operational programmes. This direct award will be made under Section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023, relying on the justification in Schedule 5, paragraph 7 for extensions or partial replacements from the existing supplier. Under this provision, the public contract concerns the supply of goods by the existing supplier which are intended as an extension to, or partial replacement of, existing goods in circumstances where (a) a change in supplier would result in the contracting authority receiving goods that are different from, or incompatible with, the existing goods, and (b) the difference or incompatibility would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in operation or maintenance.

The requirement is to obtain a small number of buoyancy‑driven underwater glider platforms with associated ancillary equipment for deployment, recovery and operational use. The goods must remain fully compatible with NOC's established command and control systems, data handling arrangements and maintenance processes to ensure continuity of operations and to avoid disproportionate technical, operational and financial impacts that would arise from introducing an alternative platform. The procurement will include delivery to NOC's facilities in Southampton, appropriate testing and acceptance prior to handover, and standard warranty arrangements commencing on acceptance. This is a pre‑award transparency notice; a separate UK6 Contract Award Notice will be published following completion of the award.