Push Boat Service for Floating Bridge 6

The Isle of Wight Council ("the Authority") invites Tenders from suitably qualified suppliers ("Potential Suppliers") for the provision of a Push Boat Service for Floating Bridge 6.

This procurement follows the OPEN procedure under the Public Contract Regulations 2015.

The Authority requires the Supplier to provide a fully crewed vessel to push Floating Bridge 6 (FB6) square on the Cowes and East Cowes Slipways during the fast-flowing spring ebb tides for the periods as set out in Appendix 1.

The vessel will have a minimum bollard pull of 6t and must be able to 'push' FB6 square on the slipway without the need for any modifications to any part of FB6. The vessel used to deliver the service must conform to the relevant Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) class; it must be certified, equipped and crewed accordingly.

Please note that, before contract award, the Preferred Supplier will be required to undertake a trial on one spring tide to establish that their proposed vessel and methodology achieve the requirements of the specification. Should the trial fail to achieve these objectives then the Authority reserves the right to reject the submission and seek to award to the next placed Potential Supplier. If this is the case, then a live trial will be undertaken for the second placed Potential Supplier.

The term of the contract shall be from 16 August 2020 until 16 February 2021 with the option to extend for up to a further 18 months at the sole discretion of the Authority. Extensions will be agreed for 3-month periods up to a maximum of 18 months in total; each extension will be advised a minimum of two weeks before it is required.

The closing date for receipt of Tenders is 14:00Hrs on 7 July 2020.

Additional information: The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 2000 which came into force on 1 January 2005 applies to the Authority. If any tenderer considers that any information supplied is commercially sensitive/confidential, this should be highlighted and reasons given. A schedule will be provided within the invitation to tender documents where tenderers can record and submit this information to the Authority. In such cases the relevant material will, in response to FOI requests, be examined in light of exemptions provided for in this Act. The contract shall be made in English and according to English Law and subject to the jurisdiction of the English Courts. To download the tender documents, interested parties must register their company on the ProContract portal. This contract opportunity can be searched by using reference number DN475372 or the link in this notice. OJEU Contract Notice 2020/S 108-263399 refers.