Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: (2023/S 000-027634/EN)
Nature of contract: Service contract
Procedure: Negotiated without a call for competition
Type of bid required: Not applicable

Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Services

Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Official name: Ministry of Defence
Town: Bristol
Country: United Kingdom
Email: desshipscomrcl-salmo-multiuser@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: The Supply and In-service Support of Emergency Escape Breathing Devices (EEBDs)
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 98360000
II.1.3) Type of contract Services
II.1.4) Short Description:
The Salvage & Marine Operations Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence (‘MOD’), intends to negotiate a contract with Ocenco Incorporated (‘Ocenco’) to provide in-service support for Emergency Escape Breathing Devices (EEBDs), together with the purchase of additional EEBDs. It is intended that the contract will be for a period of 5 years from 1st April 2024, with three additional one-year Options to extend. The estimated value of this contract is £8,000,000 ex VAT.
EEBDs are used in the event of an escape from atmospheres that are either toxic or unable to sustain life and are a safety critical item to personnel on board ships/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:8000000.00
Currency:GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
Main CPV code: 35111400
Main CPV code: 44611200

II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code:
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Salvage & Marine Operations Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence (‘MOD’), intends to negotiate a contract with Ocenco Incorporated (‘Ocenco’) to provide in-service support for Emergency Escape Breathing Devices (EEBDs), together with the purchase of additional EEBDs. It is intended that the contract will be for a period of 5 years from 1st April 2024, with three additional one-year Options to extend. The estimated value of this contract is £8,000,000 ex VAT.
EEBDs are used in the event of an escape from atmospheres that are either toxic or unable to sustain life and are a safety critical item to personnel on board ships/submarines.

II.2.5) Award criteria
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:yes
Description of options:
Three additional one-year Options to extend.

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

Section V: Award of contract/concession
V.2) Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:2023-09-19
V.2.2) Information about tenders
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Official name: Ocenco Incorporated
Town: Pleasant Praire
Country: United States
Nuts code:
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
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract/lot/concession is likely to be subcontracted
Value or proportion likely to be subcontracted to third parties

Section VI: Complementary informationVI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Official name: Ministry of Defence
Town: Bristol
Country: United Kingdom

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
2023-09-19

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 products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment,study or development under the conditions
stated in the directive(for services and supplies only)
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:
In accordance with the provisions of The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 SI No. 2020/1319, this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 as amended (in particular by SI 2020/1319). 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 this 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 32(2)(b)(ii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) because competition is absent for technical reasons.
This is because Ocenco is the sole manufacturer of the M-20.2, M-20.2XT and M-20.2T EEBDs which are currently in service with the MOD. Ocenco is the only company with the in-depth technical know-how and expertise to fulfil the requirement. Ocenco, as the original equipment manufacturer, is the only company with the ability to provide the legislative safety certification to re-certify or recycle the EEBDs which is required for MOD to comply with statutory legislation (Solas Regulation ii-2/13.3.4, ii-2/13.4.3, IMO Resolution MCS.98(73) Chapter 3.2.2 (FSS Code), IMO Resolution MCS/Circ.849, EN 13794 (2002) and ISO 23269-1 (2008)). The EEBDs provided by Ocenco are a safety critical item to personnel on board ships/submarines. Personnel are trained to use only one variant of EEBDs in the event of an escape from atmospheres that are either toxic or unable to sustain life. Using different equipment would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in operation by Royal Navy (RN) personnel and incompatibility with existing RN equipment. Introducing another type of EEBD would introduce an unacceptable safety risk to personnel.