Two contracts with a total value of £193,347,644 (€222 million) will be awarded for two identical vessels to one successful bidder, who will who will have until September 2031 to carry out the work.
Trinity House, which maintains lighthouses, light vessels and marine buoys as well as more than 11,000 other aids to navigation around England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar, has launched a ‘Futures Afloat’ programme under which the vessels will be procured.
They will replace THV Patricia and THV Galatea in servicing and replacing the 450 navigation buoys and other navaids around the coast, as well as locate, mark and protect shipping from wrecks or other dangers.
They also contribute to hydrographic surveys and can be used for research platforms, sampling projects and marine hazard search and marking, and if needed tow light vessels or equipment.
“We know there have been some challenges in replacing Trinity House’s ships and it’s important to recognise that,” says Iain Lower, deputy master for Trinity House and the CEO of the Lighthouse Board. “We’ve completed a stem to stern review of the design requirements and that work has led to a really clear expectation from us in what we want to replace our ships.
“Gone are the now harder to fulfil requirements such as legacy propulsion methods and other out-dated or obsolete design principles. And crucially we want two identically built ships that can improve inter-operability right across the Trinity House fleet. These ships, despite their unique purpose, must draw from common commercial shipping design approaches as far as possible.”
THV Patricia is 86 metres long with a 20t main crane capacity, 28t bollard pull and helicopter landing pad.She has accommodation for 46 persons and carries two 9m heavy-duty workboats.
THV Galatea is slightly smaller, has a 1.2m2 moon pool, 30t lift crane and DPAA dynamic positioning and high-specification survey equipment. She carries one 9m heavy-dury workboat and has accommodation for 31 persons.
The replacement vessels will be identical, according to the procurement notices. The deadline is August 22, and the notice is available here.
Trinity House is a valued charity that also provides training for mariners.
