Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
Ministry of Defence, In-Service Submarines (ISM)
Submarine Delivery Agency, Ash 1A, #3112, Abbey Wood
Bristol
Contact
Lee Vout
Telephone
+44 3001685447
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UK - UNITED KINGDOM
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/submarine-delivery-agency/about
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
Submarine Main Batteries Batch 8
Reference number
SDA/ISM/700948375
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 31421000 - Lead batteries
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
Procurement, maintenance, support and disposal of Royal Navy Submarine Type 8 800 main battery cells, associated support equipment, and spares which are required to support the fleet of Vanguard, Astute, and Trafalgar Class submarines.
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: £2,800,000
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 35512000 - Submarines
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - UNITED KINGDOM
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Procurement, maintenance, support and disposal of Royal Navy Submarine Type 8800 main battery cells, associated support equipment, and spares which are required to support the fleet of Vanguard, Astute, and Trafalgar Class submarines.
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
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:
(i) The purpose of this Voluntary Transparency Notice (VTN) is to notify the market of the intention of In-Service Submarines, which forms part of the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA), to enter into a contract on a single source basis with Pacific Marine Batteries Pty Ltd.
(ii) The contract shall be for the supply, maintenance, support and disposal of Royal Navy Submarine Type 8800 main battery cells, associated support equipment and spares which are required to support the fleet of Vanguard, Astute and Trafalgar class submarines.
(iii) Enersys Ltd’s exit from the submarine main batteries market and their transfer of all related technical information and other assets to Pacific Marine Batteries Pty Ltd has resulted in Pacific Marine Batteries Pty Ltd becoming the only supplier capable of providing In-Service Submarines with the requirement.
(iv) The contract shall be subject to the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice under DSPCR 2011 Regulation 16 (1)(a)(ii) where for technical reasons the contract may only be awarded to a particular economic operator. This is due to the technical need to utilise the Enersys cell design 8800 main battery cells to ensure operability with multiple systems such as agitation system, ventilation system, shock, electrical protection, endurance and to ensure nuclear safety.
(v) These systems have been designed and validated against the 8800 Ahr Enersys cell parameters and onboard battery configuration. The main battery compartment is sized around an exact multiple of the width and length of the cell. Furthermore, all support equipment is sized both electrically and spatially around the 8800 Ahr Enersys cell. Any replacement battery would require a complete redesign and validation of the relevant systems within the battery compartment. As such, using any other cell would present significant interoperability and incompatibility issues. Pacific Marine Batteries Pty Ltd are the only contractor able to supply the required configuration of cell.
(vi) Furthermore, Regulation 16(1)(b)(i) part (bb) applies. That is because additional Royal Navy Submarine Type 8800 main battery cells are required as a partial replacement for the existing cells and to obtain cells from any economic operator other than Pacific Marine Batteries Pty Ltd would oblige SDA to acquire goods having different technical characteristics which would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in operation and maintenance.
(vii) It is anticipated that the contract award date will be May 2021 with an estimated value of GBP £2.8 million (ex VAT).
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
SDA/ISM/700948375
Title
Submarine Main Batteries Batch 8
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
4 March 2021
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
Pacific Marine Batteries Pty Ltd
715 Mersey Road North
Osborne
5017
Telephone
+61 0870775500
Fax
+61 0870775577
Country
Australia
NUTS code
- 00 - Other NUTS code
Internet address
https://www.pmbdefence.com.au/
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
Yes
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot/concession: £2,800,000
five.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract/lot/concession is likely to be subcontracted
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Ministry of Defence, In-Service Submarines
Submarine Delivery Agency, Ash 1A, #3112, Abbey Wood
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Telephone
+44 3001685447
Country
United Kingdom