Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
Ministry of Defence
Abbey Wood
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Contact
Mr Garry Ogborne (Commercial Manager - Mine Hunting Capability)
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKK12 - Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority
one.5) Main activity
Defence
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
709732450 - Provision of Neptune and SeeTrack Software Licences
Reference number
709732450
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 48151000 - Computer control system
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
UK MoD Mine Hunting Capability Team procurement of Neptune and SeeTrack software licences
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: £583,000
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKM75 - Edinburgh, City of
Main site or place of performance
SeeByte Ltd, Edinburgh, UK
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Provision of a quantity of Neptune and SeeTrack software licences from SeeByte Ltd.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
two.2.14) Additional information
Link to DSP Opportunity Notice: https://www.contracts.mod.uk/go/25732014018CFDEEA21C
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice
- The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development
- The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
- absence of competition for technical reasons
Explanation:
The Mine Hunting Capability Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), intends to award a contract to SeeByte Limited (SeeByte) for the procurement of a quantity of SeeTrack and Neptune software licences.
The contract shall run for a period of one year, with no contractual Options to extend the contract duration. The maximum total value of the contract is not estimated to exceed £700k (VAT inclusive).
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 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 without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (in accordance with the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR 2011 (as amended) for Technical Reasons.
This requirement is for the procurement of software licences for SeeByte’s suite of proprietary SeeTrack and Neptune software, which was privately developed by SeeByte. This software is widely used in different applications by the Royal Navy and works collectively and collaboratively to optimise the operation and effectiveness of its autonomous underwater vehicles.
For operational reasons the Royal Navy systems which incorporates the SeeByte Limited software need to be able to interoperate with similar systems used by UK Allies, many of whom use the SeeByte software. Royal Navy systems with third party software would not meet these requirements and would create significant interoperability issues which would result in a degraded capability. As the sole owner of SeeTrack and Neptune software, and by extension the associated rights and software licences, only SeeByte Limited have the technical capability necessary to meet this requirement.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No
Section five. Award of contract/concession
Contract No
709732450
Title
Provision of Neptune and SeeTrack Software Licences
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
8 November 2023
five.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
SeeByte Ltd
Orchard Brae House, 30 Queensferry Road
Edinburgh
EH4 2HS
Telephone
+44 1314474200
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKM75 - Edinburgh, City of
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot/concession: £580,000
five.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract/lot/concession is likely to be subcontracted
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
Link to DSP Opportunity Notice: https://www.contracts.mod.uk/go/25732014018CFDEEA21C
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
UK MoD - Mine Hunting Capability Team
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Country
United Kingdom