RFI - Proposed removal of oil from the wreck of HMS CASSANDRA - Baltic.

A Request for Information (RFI) in connection with the removal and disposal of the oil remaining on the wreck of HMS CASSANDRA, a WWI era Royal Navy cruiser sunk off the coast of Estonia in the Baltic Sea on 05 December 1918 after striking a naval mine. The wreck is at an approximate depth of 95 to 100 metres (312 to 328 feet) beneath the water surface, part buried in the seabed on its starboard side in position 58.47783° N / 21.2280° E.
Photogrammetry of HMS CASSANDRA is available at:
https://oceandiscovery.org/en/projekt/hms-cassandra/
Upon written request to DESCommercial-SALMO@mod.gov.uk, copies of the latest HMS CASSANDRA survey report are available for purpose of informing a response to this RFI.

Estimated date of publication of contract notice: 2027-04-01T23:59:59+01:00
Contract location: EE
Engagement process description
The Contracting Authority seeks information on Industry’s capability and approaches to removal and disposal of the oil remaining on the wreck of HMS CASSANDRA.
Accordingly, suppliers are invited to respond to this RFI outlining methods for:
1. Oil removal from the exposed port side tanks and the accessible starboard tank at the stern.
2. In particular addressing how they would deliver such requirement as a two-stage project:
a. Stage 1 (Viability Assessment): Determination of whether the hull of the wreck retains sufficient strength to enable an oil removal (hot-tapping) operation to be safely and successfully undertaken. This stage will conclude with a go/no-go decision on whether to proceed with oil removal based on the assessment of the data collected.
b. Stage 2 (Intervention): Remove the oil, with appropriate environmental safeguards in place, and safely dispose of the oil in accordance with appropriate legislation.
Note: It is envisaged that Stages 1 and 2 will comprise separate deployments to the wreck, potentially separated by a period of several weeks or months. This is to allow a fully informed go/no-go decision based on the results of Stage 1 and, if the decision is made to proceed with the oil removal, time to plan in detail and enact the operation.
Furthermore, suppliers are kindly requested to provide a Rough Order of Magnitude (RoM) cost for performance of the relevant work in line with the methods they have outlined.
Suppliers are requested to email their responses to this RFI to DESCommercial-SALMO@mod.gov.uk by the applicable engagement deadline.
The Contracting Authority has not specified a format for any response as this can limit creativity and make it difficult to understand. Therefore, suppliers are free to present information in their preferred format, provided it is compatible with MS Office. To minimise the need for further clarification, suppliers are encouraged to clearly detail any relevant methodologies, anticipated processes, key assumptions (including applicable environmental safeguards, laws, and regulations), and dependencies, as appropriate.
If suppliers have any questions to inform an RFI response, these can be submitted to DESCommercial-SALMO@mod.gov.uk. To ensure transparency of information, any questions and answers will be published in an anonymised format. Suppliers are therefore encouraged not to include the identity of their organisation within the content of any question. If a supplier believes that a particular question should not be published, they must inform the Contracting Authority of such when asking the question. Publication of the question and response will be at the sole discretion of the Contracting Authority, provided that a supplier may withdraw its question any time prior to receipt of a response.
The Contracting Authority reserves the right to clarify the contents of any RFI response received with the originator. In doing so, the Contracting Authority will act proportionately and seek to minimise the burden on suppliers who have voluntarily responded to this RFI.
This RFI is issued solely for information, market research, and planning purposes. It does not constitute a formal solicitation, Request for Proposal (RFP), or obligation to contract. The Authority shall not be liable for any costs incurred in the preparation of responses.
Any cost information contained in an RFI response and any information furnished by the Contracting Authority in connection with this notice—excluding the notice itself and any public data accessible through hyperlinks embedded within the notice—shall be treated as strictly confidential by the recipient. The recipient shall not disclose such information to any third party without prior written consent of the originator, provided that this shall in no way limit the ability of the Contracting Authority to disclose such information to its officers, employees, agents or advisers or other UK government departments or the Estonian government.
By submitting a response, each respondent grants the Contracting Authority a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, and worldwide licence to use, reproduce, and distribute the submitted information for evaluation, feasibility assessment, and the drafting of subsequent procurement documents and to enable third parties to use, reproduce, and distribute the submitted information on behalf of the Contracting Authority for the same purposes. Provided that any cost information shall be subject always to the foregoing confidentiality obligation.
For the avoidance of doubt, responses to this RFI will be used by or on behalf of the Authority solely for the purposes of preliminary market engagement, as defined in Regulation 16 of the Procurement Act 2023.
The associated opportunity listing is accessible at: https://contracts.mod.uk/esop/guest/go/opportunity/detail?opportunityId=61368

Lot: 1

Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted: En