CEFAS23-18 Specialist Marine Technical Consultant

Tender description

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 business case ‘preferred option’. Lot 1: Cefas underpin the development of key government policy and UK national and international obligations with respect to the sustainable use of the seas through the generation of expert science and evidence. Access to assets that enable the generation and collection of key data are essential to this critical role. Primary amongst these assets is the research vessel (RV) Cefas Endeavour.<br/>RV Cefas Endeavour enables the collection of marine scientific data and evidence to underpin our 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. It is important to note that RV Cefas Endeavour is also used for survey and monitoring work by multiple UK Government Departments, as well as UK academic institutions, and therefore supports wider UK sustainability objectives. <br/>RV Cefas Endeavour is managed and maintained to achieve a planned operational life of 30 years, and having been delivered in 2003, this means the planned end of operational life is in 2033. <br/>Following Cefas’ inclusion within the UK Government’s National Shipbuilding Strategy: A refreshed strategy for a globally successful, innovative and sustainable shipbuilding enterprise , Cefas has commenced and will be continuing to develop a Project Business Case to assess how Cefas can best undertake marine scientific data collection beyond the planned operational life of RV Cefas Endeavour. The intention is to submit the Project Business Case (at Outline Business Case stage) for consideration as part of a future Comprehensive Spending Review (expected to be mid-late 2024). Additional information: The initial Contract Period shall be for the delivery of Parts A and B only. The initial Contract Period shall be a period of two years and the Authority reserves the right to extend the initial Contract Period by one year.<br/><br/>At its sole discretion, the Authority reserves the right to extend the Contract beyond the initial Contract Period to include Activities required for the ‘Preferred Option’ under Part C (upon conclusion of Part B), and Part D (upon conclusion of Part C), until a maximum end date of 31 March 2034.<br/><br/>Although the Contract Period shall be for the delivery of all Parts set out in the Specification (Parts A, B, C, and D), progression beyond 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. <br/><br/>The Authority would also draw the Supplier’s attention to the Authority’s right to terminate the Contract pursuant to clause 14.3.