CONTRACT FOR THE RENEWAL OF AN INDEPENDENT SUPPORT CONTRACT FOR THE PROVISION OF MARITIME CLASSIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION SERVICES BETWEEN COMBAT SHIPS OPERATIONS (CSO) HYDROGRAPHIC & PATROL SHIPS (H&P) TEAM & DNV SERVICES UK LIMITED

715665462 CONTRACT FOR THE RENEWAL OF AN INDEPENDENT SUPPORT CONTRACT FOR THE PROVISION OF MARITIME CLASSIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION SERVICES BETWEEN COMBAT SHIPS OPERATIONS (CSO) HYDROGRAPHIC & PATROL SHIPS (H&P) TEAM & DNV SERVICES UK LIMITED

Defence Equipment & Support, Ships Support (Hydrographic and Patrol), part of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), intends to award an independent support contract for the provision of maritime classification and certification services to DNV Services UK Limited to provide independent classification and certification services to ensure the supported classes of ships maintain the right certification for safe and legal operations and ensuring compliance with IMO and military standards. The contract will be for 5 years (3 years +2 option years) and have an estimated value of £2,500,000.00.

This procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Procurement Act 2023. In accordance with Section 41(1)(a) of the Procurement Act 2023 (the “Act”), the MoD intends to rely on the Single Supplier direct award justification, as set out in Paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 of the Act, to award a public contract directly to DNV, [a supplier that is not an excluded supplier ]. It is considered that a Direct Award is justified under the Act on the basis that, due to an absence of competition for technical reasons, only DNV can provide the necessary third-party certification services and there are no alternatives to those services without causing significant and unacceptable operational disruption. The authority requires classification services for three offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), one Ice Patrol Ship (IPS) and two RFA vessels, all of which are currently classified in accordance with DNV certification and assurance processes It is essential that the authority keep them under classification and certification services and keep third party assurance against risk.

Firstly, with regards to the certification of the IPS, technical expertise relating to ice-class vessel safety and performance is required to ensure MOD’s safety case is credible and robust. DNV is internationally recognised as specialists in the necessary Polar Code relating to this vessel. Although it is recognised that other Classification Societies could theoretically deliver the certification services for this vessel, it is considered that no other supplier possesses the necessary degree of technical expertise in ice vessels to comply with the relevant standards.

Furthermore, it is considered that a change in the supplier providing the certification of these current DNV certified vessels would result in the reclassification of these vessels in line with the incoming supplier’s own certification and assurance processes. Although the certificates for these currently DNV certified vessels remain valid for a maximum of five years, interim checks, surveys and audits are required to be carried out during this period. It is considered that a reclassification of the vessels in line with the incoming supplier’s own assurance and certification processes would be required in order to carry out these interim surveys.

Where baseline reclassification of a vessel is required, it is considered that this would take an incoming supplier at least two weeks longer to complete than DNV. In these circumstances, the vessel would be out of operation for an unfeasible amount of time. Such a gap in the certification of the vessel would result in operational disruption where it is prevented from entering certain ports as required in accordance with FCO direction and policy.

The time delay and incurred costs are unacceptable to authority requirements for vessel availability, justifying a single source approach to contracting with DNV Services UK Limited.

Accordingly, due to an absence of competition for technical reasons, DNV is considered as the only supplier that can provide the certification services for the currently DNV certified vessels in question and there are no reasonable alternatives to those services as required by the MoD.