Estimated Value
Up to £35,100,000
Deadline
2 March 2026
Published
25 September 2026
Type
goods
Overview
The requirement is for a new 33m Class B Ro-Ro passenger vessel to operate on Shetland’s routes as a relief vessel (the "Vessel"). The Vessel must be built and delivered to the Council in Shetland, Scotland by 31st March 2029.
The Council has a strong preference for an earlier handover of 31st October 2028. The contract awarded will be BIMCO NEWBUILDCON with amendments, as described in more detail in the draft Invitation to Negotiate ("ITN") included in the Procurement Documents (the "Contract").
The procurement procedure being followed for the Vessel is the Competitive Procedure with Negotiation (CPN) in accordance with Regulation 30 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 (the "Regulations"). The Council reserves the right to award the Contract on the basis of Initial Tenders without negotiation in accordance with Regulation 30(16) of the Regulations.
Regulations cited
- Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015
Submission
The structure of the procurement (the “Procurement”) is as follows: Stage 1: Shetland Islands Council (the “Council”), by publishing this Contract Notice, invites candidates to request to participate in the process by completion of an SPD response; Stage 2: successful candidates from Stage 1 will be invited to submit Initial Tenders (“Initial Tenders”) and to negotiate with the Council with a view to improving the content of their Initial Tenders (the “Negotiation Process”); Stage 3: Tenderers will then be invited to submit Final Tenders (“Final Tenders”) which will be evaluated in order for the Council to identify the most economically advantageous tender (“MEAT”); and Stage 4: subject to completion of the mandatory standstill period, and approval of a full business case by the Council’s elected members, the Council will then enter into the Contract with the successful Tenderer.
Additional details
In that scenario, the Council will not conduct the Negotiation Process or invite Final Tenders, and will move directly to Stage 4. Additional information: The draft ITN being published with this contract notice is provided for information only.
The final version of the ITN will be provided to those candidates who are shortlisted to Stage 2. The Council reserves the right to amend any part of the ITN, including the award criteria, in preparing the final version before Stage 2.
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The Shetland Islands Council is seeking a shipbuilder to design, build and deliver a new 33‑metre Class B roll‑on/roll‑off passenger vessel to be used as a relief vessel on its routes, with delivery required by 31 March 2029 (preferably by 31 Oct 2028).
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Likely incumbents
Suppliers who won similar work from this buyer in the last 5 years.
- 1
HNP Engineers (Lerwick) Ltd
1 contract wonlatest 27 May 2025£190,524
total awarded
HNP Engineers (Lerwick) Ltd is the most likely incumbent based on recency and category match. To win, bidders typically need a clearly differentiated proposition or a price advantage.
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two years of filed accountsyour financial standingturnover vs contract valueyour Companies House recordcash flow for 30-day termscredit scores and ratios
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Buyer Profile
Shetland Islands CouncilKey Dates
Published
25 September 2026
Submission deadline
2 March 2026
Notice type
award
Source
find a tender
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