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Displaying items by tag: Seek £750m bids

The UK’s second-largest port operator, Peel Ports Group is inviting contractors to submit bids for two new frameworks covering a major long-term programme of construction works across its UK and Ireland sites, worth a total of £750 million.

The port operator is seeking to appoint contractors to the two frameworks for a period of up to eight years, with one framework covering general construction and the other covering marine construction.

The frameworks cover construction projects across the Group’s entire portfolio of UK and Ireland ports, including the Port of Liverpool, Heysham Port, Manchester Ship Canal, London Medway, its Clydeport sites, Great Yarmouth, and Dublin Port.

The move underpins the delivery of Peel Ports’ long-term construction pipeline, with the scope of the frameworks covering both existing infrastructure improvements, and the development of new infrastructure.

Lewis McIntyre, Managing Director - Port Services at Peel Ports Group said: “Our ports form a network of busy logistics hubs servicing local, national and global supply chains, and this move represents a huge step in our efforts to futureproof that network, so we can keep responding and adapting to our port users’ needs in an agile way.

“The long-term nature of these framework agreements allows us to build meaningful, commercially sustainable partnerships with our construction contractors. It further allows us to appoint a collection of regional suppliers to give us breadth and depth of scope, skill, and responsiveness; the way the frameworks are structured provides invaluable opportunities for the successful partners to design and build sustainable solutions for our various projects, in what will be a truly collaborative approach as we aim for Net zero by 2040.”

The first framework’s scope covers general construction works including drainage; the construction and maintenance of new and existing roads and carparks; earthworks and ground remediation; foundations and piling; the construction, maintenance and refurbishment of new and existing warehouses; paving, surfacing and concrete works; rail construction; bridge construction and refurbishment; and demolition.

The second framework covers specialist marine construction works including piling; asset renewal and refurbishment; berthing furniture and bollards; quay walls; Lock and Sluice gate maintenance and replacement; and RoRo.

The call for tenders notes that bidders should be able to demonstrate first class delivery of health, safety, environmental and quality requirements, including local community engagement and supporting Peel Ports Group in the delivery of its ambition to become a net-zero port operator by 2040. It also emphasises the importance of the application of lean construction methodologies and managing change effectively and efficiently.

The procurement process is expected to take place throughout 2024, with contracts expected to be awarded towards the end of 2024.

The full notice is available to view here.

Published in Ports & Shipping

Marine Institute Research Vessel Tom Crean

Ireland’s new marine research vessel will be named the RV Tom Crean after the renowned County Kerry seaman and explorer who undertook three major groundbreaking expeditions to the Antarctic in the early years of the 20th Century which sought to increase scientific knowledge and to explore unreached areas of the world, at that time.

Ireland's new multi-purpose marine research vessel RV Tom Crean, was delivered in July 2022 and will be used by the Marine Institute and other State agencies and universities to undertake fisheries research, oceanographic and environmental research, seabed mapping surveys; as well as maintaining and deploying weather buoys, observational infrastructure and Remotely Operated Vehicles.

The RV Tom Crean will also enable the Marine Institute to continue to lead and support high-quality scientific surveys that contribute to Ireland's position as a leader in marine science. The research vessel is a modern, multipurpose, silent vessel (designed to meet the stringent criteria of the ICES 209 noise standard for fisheries research), capable of operating in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Tom Crean is able to go to sea for at least 21 days at a time and is designed to operate in harsh sea conditions.

RV Tom Crean Specification Overview

  • Length Overall: 52.8 m
  • Beam 14m
  • Draft 5.2M 

Power

  • Main Propulsion Motor 2000 kw
  • Bow Thruster 780 kw
  • Tunnel thruster 400 kw

Other

  • Endurance  21 Days
  • Range of 8,000 nautical miles
  • DP1 Dynamic Positioning
  • Capacity for 3 x 20ft Containers

Irish Marine Research activities

The new state-of-the-art multi-purpose marine research vessel will carry out a wide range of marine research activities, including vital fisheries, climate change-related research, seabed mapping and oceanography.

The new 52.8-metre modern research vessel, which will replace the 31-metre RV Celtic Voyager, has been commissioned with funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine approved by the Government of Ireland.

According to Aodhán FitzGerald, Research Vessel Manager of the MI, the RV Tom Crean will feature an articulated boom crane aft (6t@ 10m, 3T@ 15m), located on the aft-gantry. This will be largely used for loading science equipment and net and equipment handling offshore.

Mounted at the stern is a 10T A-frame aft which can articulate through 170 degrees which are for deploying and recovering large science equipment such as a remotely operated vehicle (ROV’s), towed sleds and for fishing operations.

In addition the fitting of an 8 Ton starboard side T Frame for deploying grabs and corers to 4000m which is the same depth applicable to when the vessel is heaving but is compensated by a CTD system consisting of a winch and frame during such operations.

The vessel will have the regulation MOB boat on a dedicated davit and the facility to carry a 6.5m Rigid Inflatable tender on the port side.

Also at the aft deck is where the 'Holland 1' Work class ROV and the University of Limericks 'Etain' sub-Atlantic ROV will be positioned. In addition up to 3 x 20’ (TEU) containers can be carried.

The newbuild has been engineered to endure increasing harsher conditions and the punishing weather systems encountered in the North-East Atlantic where deployments of RV Tom Crean on surveys spent up to 21 days duration.

In addition, RV Tom Crean will be able to operate in an ultra silent-mode, which is crucial to meet the stringent criteria of the ICES 209 noise standard for fisheries research purposes.

The classification of the newbuild as been appointed to Lloyds and below is a list of the main capabilities and duties to be tasked by RV Tom Crean:

  • Oceanographic surveys, incl. CTD water sampling
  • Fishery research operations
  • Acoustic research operations
  • Environmental research and sampling operation incl. coring
  • ROV and AUV/ASV Surveys
  • Buoy/Mooring operations