UK Public Sector Contracts & Tenders

The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) intends to procure a contract for the refit, maintenance, and upgrade of the research vessels RRS Discovery and RRS James Cook. The estimated annual value of the contract is £1.5 million. The contract is essential to ensure both vessels remain fit for purpose, compliant with Classification Society and Flag State regulations, and capable of supporting world-class scientific operations. The proposed contract will be a fixed-period agreement with a single supplier for all refit works, maintenance, and upgrades required to maintain operational capability. Depending on the outcome of soft market testing and market feedback, NOC may extract the immediate Discovery refit window (March-April 2026) from the main contract and accelerate this element using the accelerated open procedure under section 20(2)(a) of the Procurement Act 2023, with time limits set proportionately in accordance with section 54 (Time limits). The remainder of the contract will be procured using the standard open procedure as set out in section 20(2)(a). Any decision to split or accelerate the procurement will be made proportionately and in compliance with the Act.

The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is planning an accelerated open procedure under section 20(2)(a) of the Procurement Act 2023. This means any interested and qualified supplier may submit a tender. The process is fully transparent and follows the requirements of the Act and associated Regulations. All tender documentation, including this specification, will be available through the MyTenders portal. Suppliers are advised to register now to be ready for the release of tender documents. This planned procurement will be conducted with a state of urgency under an accelerated open procedure in accordance with Section 54 of the Procurement Act 2023, which governs time limits for competitive tendering procedures. Section 54(3) and (4) permit the reduction of minimum time periods where there is a state of urgency that makes compliance with standard time limits impracticable. The NOC is planning to launch the procedure by the 21.11.2025 with the minimum tendering period of 10 Days. We are publishing this advance notice to give suppliers time to register on our e-tendering platform and prepare their teams ahead of an urgent tender. Full documentation will follow in one week, our aim is to support suppliers with as much notice as possible. The urgency arises because the planned extension of the existing PCR2015-compliant contract process has fallen through unexpectedly. The vessels must undergo refit within fixed operational windows to maintain programme commitments for 2026. Delays would result in significant operational disruption and risk to scientific missions, which cannot be rescheduled without major impact on public benefit and research obligations. Accordingly, the tendering period will be shortened to the minimum permitted under Section 54 for urgent cases, while ensuring suppliers have sufficient time to prepare compliant bids. All associated tender documents will be published simultaneously with the tender notice to support this accelerated process. This procurement is for the urgent dry-dock refit and maintenance of two research vessels, RRS Discovery and RRS James Cook, during 2026. The RRS Discovery requires an intermediate docking survey and associated dry-dock works in April 2026, while the RRS James Cook is scheduled for a dry-dock refit between May and August 2026. Both refits must be completed in dry dock to meet statutory and operational requirements. The scope of the contract will be fully detailed in the tender documentation. The contract is intended to establish an overarching agreement that enables the call-off of two distinct work packages, one for each vessel. This approach is designed to allow suppliers to focus their tender submissions on demonstrating their capability and capacity to deliver the required services, rather than responding to highly prescriptive or vessel-specific work packages. The detailed technical scope and minimum requirements will be set out in the tender documentation to ensure transparency and fairness. While the tender will set out all minimum requirements necessary for compliance and operational delivery, the contract will also provide scope for additional works where proportionate and justified, ensuring flexibility and value for money. This structure is intended to ensure that suppliers are evaluated on their ability to meet the minimum requirements and demonstrate capacity, experience, and readiness to deliver within the specified timeframes. The anticipated value of the contract is between £2 million and £3 million. All works must be planned, scheduled, and delivered within the specified docking windows to ensure the vessels are returned to service on time. All works must be carried out at shipyard facilities approved by the contracting authority, with full adherence to all regulations.

The National Oceanography Centre intends to procure external financial audit and funding assurance services to support its statutory, regulatory, and funder assurance obligations. The requirement is expected to include the external audit of the National Oceanography Centre's annual financial statements, together with assurance and certification services in relation to externally funded programmes, grants, and research activities. Services may also include associated reporting, attendance at governance or audit committee meetings, and the provision of audit opinions and assurance reports in accordance with applicable accounting, audit, and regulatory standards. The procurement may additionally include related statutory or regulatory support activities that are commonly delivered as part of an external audit engagement, such as assistance with financial filings to external regulators and funders, and support in relation to audit planning, risk assessment, and control‑based audit approaches. This notice is published to provide early visibility of the National Oceanography Centre's intention to procure these services. It does not constitute a call for competition.