Classification, Survey and Design Appraisal Services for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Vessels

Concepts

• bristol
• ships
• royal fleet auxiliary vessels
• royal navy ocean survey vessel
• survey vessels
• royal navy
• the royal fleet auxiliary vessels
• survey
• design appraisal services
• the royal fleet auxiliary

Location

Bristol

Description

The MOD intends to amend the Contract for the provision of Classification, Survey and Design Appraisal Services to support the FISS requirement for Royal Fleet Auxiliary Vessels, Royal Navy Ocean Survey Vessel and Survey Vessels by extending the current term by 18 months until 30th September 2025 to ensure the continued provision of in-service support.

Total Quantity or Scope

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) manages the in-service support of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Hydrographic and Patrol vessels via the Future In-Service Support (FISS) Contracts, including Contract number CSS/0126 (the “Contract”) with Lloyd’s Register EMEA (“Lloyd’s Register”). The MOD intends to amend the Contract for the provision of Classification, Survey and Design Appraisal Services to support the FISS requirement for Royal Fleet Auxiliary Vessels, Royal Navy Ocean Survey Vessel and Survey Vessels by extending the current term by 18 months until 30th September 2025 to ensure the continued provision of in-service support. The current value of the contract is £3,400,000 and the approximate value of the extension is £1,020,000, giving an estimated revised contract value following the extension of £4,420,000.

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• 50241000 - Repair and maintenance services of ships

Indicators

Legal Justification

In accordance with regulation 4 of The Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/697) this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (DSPCR) as amended (in particular by SI 2019/697 and SI 2020/1450). Prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer appropriate. It is considered that the award of the contract, by way of an amendment to the Contract, without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (as required by the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR as the continued in-service support services cannot for technical reasons be carried out by a different supplier due to the mandatory statutory, regulatory and MOD standards required whilst ensuring on-going operability. The vessels are operated and maintained to both commercial and naval standards and are subject to classification society rules and Naval Authority (NA) rules. Lloyd’s Register have co-authored the Lloyd’s Register Naval Ship Rules and Regulations (LRNSR) for the Classification of Ships and Naval Ships that apply to naval and RFA ships. RFA Tide class vessels are built to these rules and the future FSS class are being designed and built to these LRNSR rules. Only Lloyd’s Register, the parent Classification Society of the LRNSR rule set, can conduct surveys, plan appraisals and provide certification against any RFA vessels which are classified as being “in-class” in accordance with the LRNSR. In operating and maintaining vessels in line with LRNSR, it is not possible for another Classification Society to provide equivalent certification against an alternative set of Naval Ship rules. Changing the rule set in respect of which the RFA platforms are currently classified would introduce an unacceptable level of safety risk to the vessels and personnel. Lloyd’s Register is the only Classification society, for these RFA vessels, that have delegated authority from the DE&S Naval Authority Group for issuing Naval Ship Stability Certification on their behalf.