Official UK procurement notice
Subsea Cable Remediation and Protection
Authority: NATIONAL GRID UK LIMITED (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNational Grid is seeking to establish a long-term framework agreement with an experienced Contractor capable of delivering cable protection solutions, including rock berms, rock bags, concrete mattresses, and other manners of appropriate protection of subsea electricity cables.
This tender is issued by National Grid UK "NGUK" Limited for and on behalf of its entities. The contract allows the wider National Grid Group and its JV Partners ("Employer") to instruct Work.
NGUK and its subsidiaries shall instruct the Contractor to provide the Works for the following Interconnector Assets and Projects and any subsequent Assets which are commissioned from time to time:
- National Grid Ventures Unincorporated Joint Ventures (NGV UJV) - IFA, IFA2, North Sea Link and Viking Link.
- National Grid Ventures Incorporated Joint Ventures (NGV IJV) - Britned, Nemo Link, Lion Link.
- Other National Grid cable businesses / Strategic Infrastructure (SI) - Eastern Green Link 1, Eastern Green Link 2, Eastern Green Link 3, Eastern Green Link 4, Eastern Green Link 5, Sea Link, Western Link, Western Link 2.
The NGV UJV businesses will likely be the first contract users as there are currently multiple known exposures requiring protection.
The agreement will be used when a maintenance survey identifies cable exposure requiring intervention or when a new cable section recently installed requires protection after a repair.
The works shall provide minimum cover subsea cable system remediation and protection, with all the necessary and appropriate equipment required to achieve compliant completion of the works. This equipment deployed will need to cover all subsea cables and all scenarios listed below:
a) Nearshore - In the nearshore environment, defined as water depths of 0 to 20 metres Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT).
b) Offshore - In the offshore environment, defined as water depths in excess of of 20 metres LAT.
In addition to the primary cable protection works, the Employer wishes to retain the flexibility to issue Work Orders for activities that may arise over the duration of this long-term agreement to support asset resilience.
While there are currently no defined scopes for these activities, the Contractor is expected to have the capability to undertake such works if required, including:
- Seabed debris removal and relocation - which may involve methods such as ROV grapnel tooling, ploughs or other appropriate clearance techniques.
- Remedial and reburial works - including cable reburial and sand wave removal activities using methods such as Mass Flow Excavation or other appropriate excavation techniques.
The Contractor is expected to support the core cable protection scope while maintaining the capability and readiness to deliver additional seabed intervention and cable reburial services as and when required throughout the term of the agreement.
- How the procedure runs: The tender stages will be as follows: 1. Pre-qualification - Suppliers that registered their interest via the initial Planned Procurement Notice or this Tender Notice will be requested to respond to National Grid Pre-qualification Questionnaire via SAP Ariba. 2. Request for Proposal (RFP) - Shortlisted suppliers (maximum of 5 highest scoring) will be invited to RFP. 3. Negotiations - 1-2 highest scoring suppliers will be invited to negotiations. 4. Award - One highest scoring supplier will be awarded the contract. All stages will be led on SAP Ariba. Award criteria is being finalised and will be shared in the RFP documentation.
CPV: Marine construction works · Marine survey services · Rock-dumping work
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Open framework
- Call-offs
- call-offs are awarded directly to appointed suppliers, without further competition
- Places
- up to 1 suppliers
- Framework period
- 4 yrs · up to 8 yrs from 4 May 2027
Who may buy through it
This tender is issued by National Grid UK Limited on behalf of its entities and UK Joint Venture partners.
UK JV Partners including but not limited to:
Eastern Green Link 1, Eastern Green Link 4:
S P Transmission PLC, UK
Eastern Green Link 2, Eastern Green Link 3, Eastern Green Link 5:
Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission PLC, UK
Western Link and Western Link 2:
S P Transmission PLC, UK
Published description of the framework
National Grid is establishing a long-term framework agreement where each work package will be instructed via a Work Order. The Work Order will specify the asset and customer.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£20,000,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- Commercial
- Technical
- Contract (Risk and Compliance)
- “Subsea Cable Remediation and Protection” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 1 suppliers, not a single contract, and call-offs are awarded directly: getting appointed is the whole game.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Works
- Notice status
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- This tender is issued by National Grid UK Limited on behalf of its entities and UK Joint Venture partners. UK JV Partners including but not limited to: Eastern Green Link 1, Eastern Green Link 4: S P Transmission PLC, UK Eastern Green Link 2, Eastern Green Link 3, Eastern Green Link 5: Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission PLC, UK Western Link and Western Link 2: S P Transmission PLC, UK
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 8 Jun 2026, 14:46 BST
- Last source update
- 4 Sept 2026, 10:31 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 22 Mar 2027
- Authority reference
WS5853293376- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-083788- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area in notice
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06aff0Find a Tender
- How it runs
The tender stages will be as follows:
- Pre-qualification - Suppliers that registered their interest via the initial Planned Procurement Notice or this Tender Notice will be requested to respond to National Grid Pre-qualification Questionnaire via SAP Ariba.
- Request for Proposal (RFP) - Shortlisted suppliers (maximum of 5 highest scoring) will be invited to RFP.
- Negotiations - 1-2 highest scoring suppliers will be invited to negotiations.
- Award - One highest scoring supplier will be awarded the contract.
All stages will be led on SAP Ariba.
Award criteria is being finalised and will be shared in the RFP documentation.
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 25 Sept 2026, 15:00 BST
- Appointment period ends
- 25 Sept 2026, 15:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 10 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Enquiry deadline = Deadline for further expressions of interest
Suppliers wishing to participate in this opportunity should complete this form (unless already completed following the UK3 Planned Procurement Notice): forms.cloud.microsoft/r/hLcZqg8K07 ↗
National Grid Procurement will issue all the tender documents via SAP Ariba to those suppliers that have expressed their interest in response to this Tender Notice or the previous UK3 Planned Procurement Notice issued at www.find-tender.service.gov.uk ↗ on Friday 11th September 2026.
Deadline for requests to participate = Deadline for PQQ submissions on SAP Ariba
Timeline
8 Jun 2026 → 4 May 2027 · 7 dates- Planning notice published135 days ago8 Jun 2026, 14:46 BST
- Next notice expected114 days ago29 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published47 days ago4 Sept 2026, 10:31 BST
- Clarification questions by41 days ago10 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period ends26 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown25 Sept 2026, 15:00 BST
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Award decision expected byin 152 days22 Mar 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 194 days4 May 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 8 Jun 2026- Planned procurement notice published8 Jun 2026, 14:46 BSTUK3
- Tender notice published4 Sept 2026, 10:31 BSTUK4
- Status changed to active4 Sept 2026, 10:31 BST
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specificationsAccess: The full tender document package will be issued on SAP Ariba under an NDA.
- Bidding documents and specifications The attached Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) provides an early visibility of the requirements. The PQQ assesses organisation's capability and experience and should be considered carefully. Your organisation should only participate if you are confident you can deliver a mean…
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Planned procurement notice Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender