Defence Online

Type of document: Invitation to tender
Country: United Kingdom
OJEU Ref: (2017/S 040-074060/EN)
Nature of contract: Service contract
Procedure: Negotiated procedure
Regulation of procurement: EU
Type of bid required: Global bid

Contract notice
Services
Directive 2009/81/EC
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name addresses and contact point(s):
Ministry of Defence, Ships, Commercially Supported Shipping (CSS) Team
Ash 2a #3203, Defence Equipment and Support
Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
United Kingdom
For the attention of: Mr John Youngs
Phone: +44 3067933337
Email: DESShipsComrcl-CSS-FISS-Group@mod.uk
Internet Address(es):
General address of the contracting authority:
Further information can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)
Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: The above mentioned contact point(s)
I.2) Type of the contracting authority:
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions
I.3) Main activity:
Defence
I.4) Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities/entities:
The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: No
Section II: Object of the contract:
II.1) Description:
II.1.1) Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority/entity: Commercially Supported Shipping (CSS) Future In-Service Support (FISS) — Technical Coatings Requirement for thirteen (13) Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) and one (1) Royal Navy (RN) Vessels.
II.1.2) Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance:
Services
Service category No 1: Maintenance and repair services
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: Bristol, City of.
Nuts code: UKK11
II.1.3) Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)
II.1.4) Information on framework agreement
II.1.5) Short description of the specific contract:Repair and maintenance services of ships. The Commercially Supported Shipping (CSS) Team manages the In-Service Support of a diverse range of platforms including the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) flotilla and the Royal Navy (RN) Hydrographic and Patrol (H&P) including Survey Ships. The majority of contracts which support these platforms will expire in 2018.This requirement is for the planning, procurement and supply of technical coatings services to support x13 RFA and x1 RN platforms. Services to include: technical coating systems (internal and external); technical services, including an on-site technical coating advisor; surveying capability; research and development.The successful bidder must support all requirements over the ten (10) year framework agreement duration.
II.1.6) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV): 50241000,
II.1.7) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA):
The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA):
II.1.8) Lots:
The contract is divided into lots: No
II.1.9) Information about variants:
Variants will be accepted: NO
II.2) Quantity or scope of the contract:
II.2.1) Total quantity or scope:
The scope of this requirement covers the provision and procurement of technical coatings and associated technical services for the following ships: RFA WAVE KNIGHT, RFA WAVE RULER (Wave class); RFA FORT AUSTIN, RFA FORT ROSALIE, RFA FORT VICTORIA (Fort Class); RFA LYME BAY, RFA MOUNTS BAY, RFA CARDIGAN BAY (Bay Class); RFA ARGUS; HMS SCOTT (OSV); RFA TIDESPRING, RFA TIDERACE, RFA TIDESURGE, RFA TIDEFORCE (Tide Class);. The successful contractors may need to offer national and international technical coatings support and assist with the planning, management and implementation of maintenance periods. Maintenance periods may include, but not be limited to: Refit Periods; Docking Periods; Contractor Support Periods; Annual Certification Periods; and Assisted Maintenance Periods.
A joint team (the Authority, a technical coatings advisor from the successful technical coatings bidder, and the successful maintenance/refit/repair contractor) will be co-located at the maintenance/refit/repair contractor’s premises and work collaboratively with allocated maintenance contractors and CSS staff. CSS is currently running a competition to identify the maintenance contractors suitable for managing the support requirements. This is split into three separate capabilities as follows: Lot 1(Wave and Fort Class), Lot 2 (Bay Class, RFA Argus and HMS Scott) and Lot 3 (Tide Class). It is envisaged that there will be one (1) joint support team per maintenance contractor.
The contract will be for ten (10) years, with a value for money exercise commencing at the three and a half (3.5) year point. The Authority will have the option, at its sole discretion, to break the contract at the five (5) year point if it believes value for money is not being achieved. Years one (1) to three (3) will be firm price i.e. not subject to variation, and years four (4) to ten (10) will be fixed price, subject to the price index / indices stated in the contract. The justification for the proposed framework duration is that RFA and OSV vessels require a refit period every five (5) years, and a ten (10) year framework will allow for two (2) refit periods within one contractual agreement which will provide benefits to both the successful bidder and Authority through learning for experience. Planning a refit period requires eighteen (18) months, and a seven (7) year contract period would risk interruption to the planning or delivery of a second refit period. Certification is required at a docking every five (5) years so a ten (10) year framework would afford full certification twice preventing the risk of uncertified and therefore unusable vessels in the fleet. This is therefore deemed as exceptional circumstances.
No work whatsoever is guaranteed under any resulting framework agreement or contract and there is no guarantee that any framework agreement or contract will be put in place in relation to this notice. No compensation etc. will be paid if a tender or resulting framework agreement is withdrawn for any reason. Bidders should take part in this process only on the basis that they fully understand and accept this position.
Potential Providers are advised CSS currently utilise Hempel Ltd coating products for all of its internal, external and specialist coating requirements. Where it is necessary to remove these current products and to prepare and re-apply your own specified proprietary products as part of any Tendered support solution, the cost of this activity will be considered and evaluated along with all tendered costs. A list of the current application requirements is detailed at Appendix A to Annex C of the dPQQ guidance.
Estimated value excluding VAT:
Range: between 11 000 000 and 14 000 000 GBP
II.2.2) Information about options:
Options: no
II.2.3) Information about renewals:
II.3) Duration of the contract or time limit for completion

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1) Conditions relating to the contract
III.1.1) Deposits and guarantees required:
The Authority shall reserve the right to request a proportional Parent company guarantee or Bank Bond.
III.1.2) Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
Payment will follow delivery and acceptance of the goods, works or services.
III.1.3) Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
If a group of economic operators submits a bid, the group must nominate a lead organisation to deal with the Authority. The Authority shall require the group to form a legal entity before entering into the contract.
III.1.4) Other particular conditions
The performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions: yes
Description of particular conditions: — 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 a Security Aspects Letter, the Authority reserves the right to amend the terms of the Security Aspects Letter to reflect any changes in national law or government policy whether in respect of the applicable protective marking scheme, specific protective markings given, and the aspects to which any protective marking applies or otherwise.— Contractors On Deployed Operations (CONDO) obligations will apply.— TUPE obligations are a possibility. Industry currently undertakes the services.
III.2) Conditions for participation
III.2.1) Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
The Authority will apply all the offences listed in Article 39(1) of Directive 2009/81/EC (implemented as Regulation 23(1) of the Defence and Security Public Contract Regulations (DSPCR) 2011 in the UK) and all of the professional misconducts listed at Article 39(2) of Directive 2009/81/EC (see also Regulation 23(2) in the DSPCR 2011) to the decision of whether a Candidate is eligible to be invited to tender.A full list of the Regulation 23(1) and 23(2) criteria are at will be required to sign a declaration confirming whether they do or do not have any of the listed criteria as part of the pre-qualification process.Candidates who have been convicted of any of the offences under Article 39(1) are ineligible and will not be selected to bid, unless there are overriding requirements in the general interest (including defence and security factors) for doing so.Candidates who are guilty of any of the offences, circumstances or misconduct under Article 39(2) may be excluded from being selected to bid at the discretion of the Authority.Declaration of good standing in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire
III.2.2) Economic and financial ability
(a) Appropriate statements from the economic operator’s bankers or where appropriate, evidence of relevant professional risk indemnity insurance(b) The presentation of balance-sheets or extracts from the balance-sheets, where publication of the balance-sheet is required under the law of the country in which the economic operator is establishedTwo (2) years audited accounts (if available) or equivalent information, which will be sought through Pre-Qualification Questionnaire
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: (a) Appropriate statements from the economic operator’s bankers or where appropriate, evidence of relevant professional risk indemnity insurance(b) The presentation of balance-sheets or extracts from the balance-sheets, where publication of the balance-sheet is required under the law of the country in which the economic operator is establishedTwo (2) years audited accounts (if available) or equivalent information, which will be sought through Pre-Qualification QuestionnaireThe estimated average annual contract value is 1 100 000 – 1 400 000 GBP. If the estimated average annual contract value a potential supplier is planning to bid for is greater than 40 % of its turnover, the Authority reserves the right to exclude them from being selected to tender. The Authority reserves the right to exclude the supplier from being selected to tender except where the supplier provides, to the satisfaction of the Authority, evidence showing it has sufficient economic and financial capability, e.g. such evidence may include:(1) Any additional information proving it has sufficient economic and financial resources to deliver the requirement; and(2) State whether the supplier is willing to provide the Authority with an indemnity, guarantee or bank bond.A financial assessment will be undertaken on the supplier’s financial status. An overall pass / fail judgement will be made after considering areas such as turnover, profit, net assets, liquidity, gearing and capacity. This assessment will include the Parent company where applicable. An independent financial assessment obtained from a reputable credit rating organisation will be utilised as part of this process.
III.2.3) Technical capacity
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
III.2.4) Information about reserved contracts
III.3) Conditions specific to services contracts
III.3.1) Information about a particular profession
Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession:
III.3.2) Staff responsible for the execution of the service
Legal persons should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff responsible for the execution of the service: YES
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Type of procedure
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated
IV.1.2) Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate
Envisaged minimum number: 2 and maximum number 4
Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates:
Procedure for limiting the number of operators to be invited to tender has been outlined in the dPQQ Guidance Instructions Document under ‘supporting documents’ section. Suppliers are advised to review this document thoroughly before submitting a response to the dPQQ.
IV.1.3) Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue
IV.2) Award criteria
The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document
IV.2.2) Information about electronic auction

IV.3) Administrative information
IV.3.1) File reference number attributed by the contracting authority/entity
CSS/0125
IV.3.2) Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract
No
IV.3.3) Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document
Payable documents: Yes
IV.3.4) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
25.03.2017 – 23:55
IV.3.5) Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
IV.3.6) Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up
EN
IV.3.7) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
In days:
IV.3.8) Conditions for opening of tenders

Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1) Information about recurrence
VI.2) Information about European Union funds
The contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
VI.3) Additional information
The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.- 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
— The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of bidders will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement. Suppliers interested in working with the Ministry of Defence should register on the MOD Supplier Information Database (SID) Register, available at www.contracts.mod.uk. The MOD SID is a database of active and potential suppliers available to all MOD and UK Defence procurement personnel, and is the main supplier database of MOD Procurement organisations. Please note: the registration and publication of a company profile on the MOD SID does not mean or imply that the supplier has in any way been vetted or approved by the MOD. Suppliers wishing to compete for advertised MOD contracts must respond to any specific call for competition by submitting a separate expression of interest in accordance with the instructions of the purchasing organisation.
— The following vessels currently have an out of service date that falls within the contract duration: Lot 1 — RFA Fort Austin, RFA Fort Rosalie, and RFA Fort Victoria in 2025; and Lot 2 — RFA ARGUS in 2024 and HMS SCOTT in 2022. The vessel out of service dates are for illustrative purposes only, and may be subject to change.
— This advert is in relation to Prior Information Notice 2016/S 129-232289 published in tenders electronic daily on 7.7.2016.
— The dynamic Pre-qualification Questionnnaire (dPQQ) Access code is P7ZCYM34E4. Should you have any issues responding to the DPQQ via the DCO please follow the instructions in this advert or contact the CSS FISS Group Email account. The deadline for responding to the DPQQ is 23:55 on 25.3.2017.
— The dPPQ Guidance Instructions Document is included as Supporting Documentation with the dPQQ. Potential Providers are advised to read through this carefully before commencing their dPQQ response. The DPQQ questions and Guidance Instructions document must be read to ensure an appropriate level of evidence is submitted. All elements of the dPQQ must be addressed.
— Another document is attached with the dPQQ to provide Potential Providers with further information on the specific Vessels in scope of the CSS FISS requirement which the Authority would also recommend is read prior to any response being submitted.
Suppliers must read through this set of instructions and follow the process to respond to this opportunity.
The information and/or documents for this opportunity are available on
You must register on this site to respond, if you are already registered you will not need to register again, simply use your existing username and password. Please note there is a password reminder link on the homepage.
Suppliers must log in, go to your Response Manager and add the following Access Code: 2X68323C57.
Please ensure you follow any instruction provided to you here.
The deadline for submitting your response(s) is detailed within this contract notice, you will also have visibility of the deadline date, once you have added the Access code via DCO as the opening and closing date is visible within the opportunity.
Please ensure that you allow yourself plenty of time when responding to this opportunity prior to the closing date and time, especially if you have been asked to upload documents.
If you experience any difficulties please refer to the online Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) or the User Guides or contact the MOD DCO Helpdesk by emailing support@contracts.mod.uk or Telephone 0800 282 324.
GO Reference: GO-2017223-DCB-9665309.
VI.4) Procedures for appeal
VI.4.1) Body responsible for appeal procedures:
Ministry of Defence, Ships, Commercially Supported Shipping (CSS) Team
Bristol
United Kingdom
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
23.02.2017