CEFAS23-18 Specialist Marine Technical Consultant

Specialist Technical Marine Consultancy services required to support the development of a Project Business Case for a vessel refit/replacement and overseeing delivery of the ‘preferred option’. Although the Contract Period shall be for the delivery of all Parts set out in the Specification (Parts A, B, C and D), progression from Parts A and B to any and each subsequent stage will require express approval from the Authority. The Authority may, subject to the necessary approvals being in place and subject to confirming the Services and Charges with the Supplier for Parts C and or D, progress to Parts C and or D of the Contract.

Research Vessel (RV) Cefas Endeavour is owned by Cefas and is operated to enable the collection of marine scientific data and evidence to underpin its critical role in support of Defra and other government departments. RV Cefas Endeavour is also the primary vehicle through which Cefas can generate the necessary data to underpin national and international obligations such as sustainable fisheries, food security, biodiversity and conservation and environmental quality. RV Cefas Endeavour is managed and maintained to achieve a planned operational life of 30 years, and having been delivered in 2003, the vessel has a planned end of operational life in 2033. Following Cefas’ inclusion within the UK Government’s National Shipbuilding Strategy: A refreshed strategy for a globally successful, innovative and sustainable shipbuilding enterprise, Cefas is developing a Project Business Case to assess how Cefas can best undertake marine scientific data collection beyond the planned operational life of RV Cefas Endeavour. Currently at the end of the Strategic Outline Case (SOC) stage, the process has created a short-list of options to be taken forward to the Outline Business Case (OBC) stage, as below:

• Option 1: RV Cefas Endeavour Continuation to 2048 (without targeted life extension investment).
• Option 2: RV Cefas Endeavour Continuation to 2048 (with targeted life extension investment).
• Option 8: New vessel to replace RV Cefas Endeavour with ‘like-for-like’ scientific capability.
• Option 9: New vessel to replace RV Cefas Endeavour with ‘enhanced’ scientific capability.

All options involve a vessel, whether this is the continued use of RV Cefas Endeavour beyond 2033, or the commissioning of a new research vessel which can make use of the latest scientific and technological advances. There is therefore a requirement to draw upon a Specialist Marine Technical Consultant (SMTC) to develop the Project Business Case, and perform activities associated with the identification of the ‘Preferred Option’ (Part A), development of the ‘Preferred Option’ (Part B), procurement of the ‘Preferred Option’ (Part C), and implement the ‘Preferred Option’ (Part D) until it is in place, operational, and outside of warranty claims (for certain options only).

As noted above, this procurement relates to the delivery of all Parts set out in the Specification (Parts A, B, C and D). However, progression of the Contract beyond from Parts A and B to any and each subsequent stage will require express approval from the Authority. The Authority may, subject to the necessary approvals being in place and confirming the Services and Charges with the Supplier for Parts C and or D, progress to Parts C and or D of the Contract. The anticipated value of Parts A and B is £350k incl VAT. The estimated total maximum value for Parts A, B, C and D is £1.5m incl VAT.