Kongsberg Discovery AS Single Source Contract for Hydrographic Sonar Support UK5 TN

Defence Equipment & Support, Ships Support (Hydrographic and Patrol), part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), intends to award a contract for the maintenance and provision of hull mounted Multibeam and Single Beam Echo Sounders (MBES / SBES) to Kongsberg Discovery AS to enable in-service support, calibration, maintenance, repair, training and replacement of the systems mentioned above manufactured by Kongsberg Discovery AS.

The contract will be for 3 plus 1 option years and have an estimated value of £1,000,000.00.

In accordance with the provisions of the Procurement Act 2023 (“PA 2023”), it is considered that the direct award of the contract is lawful in accordance with paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 to the PA 2023. This is due to an absence of competition for technical reasons as only Kongsberg can supply the goods, services or works required, and there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works.

Kongsberg Discovery AS develop, design and manufacture the range of hydrographic echosounders currently fitted to Royal Navy vessels, along with their associated firmware and software. These systems are sold directly from Kongsberg Discovery AS to the end user with spares and support also provided directly. There are no alternative manufacturers of aftermarket spares to support the systems and no other companies are authorised to maintain or support the systems. As original equipment manufacturer, Kongsberg Discovery AS has confirmed that any third party involvement in repair or maintenance would invalidate the original equipment warranty or support agreement.