Ship chartering services

Tender description

This is for the urgent charter of the MS Hebridean Sky operated by Noble Caledonia, due to the COVID-19 emergency. The Covid-19 emergency has hugely disrupted the planned arrangements to return personnel from Falkland Islands to the UK in a manner that was not foreseeable, and there is an immediate need to place this contract to secure safe board and passage for the staff. Staff working in the Antarctic region who would normally return to the UK via the Falkland Islands, would usually make use of the MoD Air Bridge to return to the UK. MoD advise the Airbridge is now prioritised for medical and other emergency staff and in addition its normal routing is compromised. The usual alternative route planned for in the event of difficulty using the Airbridge, is through Chile, which is not viable as the country has closed its borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is for an urgent ship charter, due to the Covid-19 emergency. The requirement is two-fold: 1) To provide safe accommodation for up to 118 staff returning from Antarctica. This will minimise the risk of infection to the Falkland Islanders as well as amongst themselves, and avoids placing an intolerable strain on the limited infrastructure on the Islands; and 2) To provide safe passage back to the UK.