Defence Online

Type of document: Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Country: United Kingdom
OJEU Ref: (2020/S 239-592290/EN)
Nature of contract: Supply contract
Procedure: Negotiated without a call for competition
Type of bid required: Not applicable

Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Supplies

Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Official name: Ministry of Defence, Submarines, In-Service Submarines (ISM) Team
Postal address: Ash 1a, #3112, Abbey Wood
Town: Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom
Contact Person: Lee Vout
Telephone: +44 3001685447
Email: lee.vout100@mod.gov.uk
Internet address(es):
Main address:

I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions
I.5) Main activity
Defence

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title: Submarine Main Batteries Batch 9

Reference number: SDA/ISM/701294373
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 31421000
II.1.3) Type of contract Supplies
II.1.4) Short Description:
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.
II.1.6) Information about lots
The contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement(excluding VAT)
Value:23500000
Currency:GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
Main CPV code: 35512000

II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code: UK Main site or place of performance:UNITED KINGDOM.

II.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.

II.2.5) Award criteria
II.2.11) Information about options
Options: no
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice(in accordance with Article 28 of Directive 2009/81/EU)
IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement(GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: no
IV.2) Administrative information
IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number in the OJ S:2020/S 101-245159

Section V: Award of contract/concession
Contract No: SDA/ISM/701294373
Title: Submarine Main Batteries Batch 9

V.2) Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:2020-12-02
V.2.2) Information about tenders
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Official name: Pacific Marine Batteries Pty Ltd
Postal address: 715 Mersey Road North
Town: Osborne
Postal code: 5017
Country: Australia
Telephone: +61 0870775500
Email: enquiries@pmbdefence.com.au
Fax: +61 0870775577
Nuts code: 00
Internet address:
The contractor is an SME: yes

V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession(excluding VAT)
for framework agreements – total maximum value for this lot
for contracts based on framework agreements, if required – value of contract(s) for this lot not included in
previous contract award notices

Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information:
The authority reserves the right to amend any condition related to security of information to reflect any changes in national law or government policy. If any contract documents are accompanied by instructions on safeguarding classified information (e.g. a Security Aspects Letter), the authority reserves the right to amend the terms of these instructions to reflect any changes in national law or government policy, whether in respect of the applicable protective marking scheme, specific protective markings given, the aspects to which any protective marking applies, or otherwise. The link below to the Gov.uk website provides information on the Government Security Classification.

Advertising regime OJEU: this contract opportunity is published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), the MoD Defence Contracts Bulletin and www.contracts.mod.uk
Go reference: GO-2020123-DCB-17454622
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Official name: Ministry of Defence, Submarines, In-Service Submarines (ISM) Team
Postal address: Ash 1a, #3112, Abbey Wood
Town: Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 3001685447
E-mail: lee.vout100@mod.gov.uk

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
2020-12-03

Justification for the award of the contract without prior publication of a call for
competition in the Official Journal of the European Union
1.Justification for the choice of the negotiated procedure without publication of a call for competition in accordance with
Article 28 of Directive 2009/81/EU
The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
absence of competition for technical reasons

3.Explanation
Please explain in a clear and comprehensive manner why the award of the contract without prior publication in the Official Journal of the European Union
is lawful, by stating the relevant facts and, as appropriate, the conclusions of law in accordance with the directive:
(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 7-year 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 Spring 2022 with an estimated value of GBP 23.5 million (ex VAT).