Delivery of Engine Support to Maintain the Capability of MoD Boats

CPV: Reconditioning services of ships or boats

Type

Closed framework

Framework period

7 yrs from 1 Feb 2027

Procedure method

Direct award

Legal basis

UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023

Procurement category

Services

Notice status

Awarded without competition

Procurement threshold

Unspecified in notice

Regulatory regime

Defence & security

Commercial structure

Framework agreement

Who may use this agreement

Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority

Competition type

Direct award (no call for competition)

GPA / WTO covered

Unspecified in notice

Recurring procurement

Unspecified in notice

First published

23 Oct 2025, 08:25 BST

Last source update

30 Oct 2025, 14:23 GMT

FTS notice number

2025/S 000-067647

Latest notice

Transparency notice (UK5)

Classification (CPV)

Reconditioning services of ships or boats

Delivery area

Not published

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-05d206 Find a Tender

Why no open competition

Additional Repeat Extension Partial Replacement

Published justification

The Boats team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD), intends to award a Framework Agreement to E P Barrus Ltd for the delivery of engine support to maintain the capability of MOD Boats. The estimated Framework Agreement value is circa £45M for the entire duration of the Agreement which is 7 years.

It is considered that this contract can be placed using a Direct Award pursuant to Section 41, Schedule 5, Para 7 (Additional or repeat goods, services or works) of the Procurement Act 2023 for Defence and Security reasons.

The Framework Agreement will cover the servicing, repair and supply of all outboard and specified inboard engines that are currently fitted to MOD Boats. The Authority currently holds a Framework Agreement with E P Barrus Ltd for the service, repair and supply of outboard engines.

The Authority currently operates outboard engines manufactured by Mercury, Mariner, Yanmar, Thrustmaster and Hydromaster and Inboard Motors manufactured by Yanmar and John Deere. Any contract resulting from this Transparency Notice will support all of these engines; of which E P Barrus are the sole UK distributor for Mercury Mariner and Yanmar.

Furthermore, there is embedded technology within various outboard engines, which EP Barrus have the design rights on and technical expertise to install, remove and maintain such components. The Authority does not believe it would be possible for another supplier to provide either complete engines, maintenance, or associated spare parts without recourse to E P Barrus Ltd as a result.

Inboard Engines are particularly closely integrated with their host platform, and it would be unfeasible to specify an engine other than that currently operated without significant re-design. All engines (whether inboard or outboard) are integrated with their host platforms, and changing engine manufacturer would increase technical risk, including affecting the ability of the whole boat to meet its capability requirements and the ability of the Boats Team to maintain the Safety Case of the boat. It would also increase the training burden and logistics burden on End Users. A number of the engines also have Air Delivery certification which requires a large amount of testing. If a new engine is fitted it may result that the change to the boat will require a reassessment and recertification of all aspects of boat capability, which is both costly and time consuming (and reduces / removes capability while the trials are ongoing). Accordingly, only E P Barrus Ltd can provide the required technical assurance and ensure the safety of the engine and platform.

Appointment period ends

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• E P Barrus LimitedFramework contractorGB-COH: 00148476 Glen Way, Bicester, South East, OX26 4URContact emailShow contact details