Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: (2024/S 000-001115/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
Postal address: Abbey Wood
Town: Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom
Contact Person: Mr Garry Ogborne (Commercial Manager – Mine Hunting Capability)
Email: garry.ogborne100@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: 709732450 – Provision of Neptune and SeeTrack Software Licences

Reference number: 709732450
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 48151000
II.1.3) Type of contract Supplies
II.1.4) Short Description:
UK MoD Mine Hunting Capability Team procurement of Neptune and SeeTrack software licences
II.1.6) Information about lots
The contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement(excluding VAT)
Value:583000.00
Currency:GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code: Main site or place of performance:SeeByte Ltd, Edinburgh, UK

II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Provision of a quantity of Neptune and SeeTrack software licences from SeeByte Ltd.

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
II.2.14) Additional information:
Link to DSP Opportunity Notice:

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
Contract No: 709732450
Title: Provision of Neptune and SeeTrack Software Licences

V.2) Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:2023-11-08
V.2.2) Information about tenders
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Official name: SeeByte Ltd
Postal address: Orchard Brae House, 30 Queensferry Road
Town: Edinburgh
Postal code: EH4 2HS
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 1314474200
Nuts code:
The contractor is an SME: no

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 information
VI.3) Additional information:
Link to DSP Opportunity Notice:
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Official name: UK MoD – Mine Hunting Capability Team
Town: Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
2024-01-12

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:
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.