The provision of Ocean Bottom Seismograph (OBS)

The below justification set out in Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023 applies to this Direct Award; Single Supplier (6) The following conditions are met in relation to the public contract— (a)due to an absence of competition for technical reasons, only a particular supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and (b)there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works. The University of Plymouth requires the hire of six Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS) and associated specialist technical services for the Antarctic Canyon Experiment (ACE). The requirement includes not only the provision of Antarctic-capable OBS equipment, but also specialist support for experimental design, mobilisation, deployment, recovery, equipment shipping and sea-going technical operations. The Ocean-Bottom Instrument Consortium (OBIC) has been identified as the only supplier able to provide the required combination of OBS instrumentation, specialist technical expertise, submarine canyon deployment experience, logistical capability and equipment availability for the required project period. Alternative providers were considered; however, none could demonstrate the full combination of technical capability, operational support and availability necessary to meet the scientific and logistical requirements of the project. Several suppliers confirmed they were unavailable within the required timeframe or unable to provide the necessary support arrangements. The University has therefore concluded that competition is absent for technical reasons and that no reasonable alternative supplier exists. Accordingly, OBIC is the only supplier capable of meeting the University's requirements. Funding relevant to this notice benefits from European Research Council (ERC) grant funding under Project 101169829 - Antarctic Canyon Experiment (ACE)