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HOA3 - Harbour Operating Agreement

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (Utility)

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

09 Oct 2025 at 13:16

Award Notice
Award

12 May 2025 at 12:01

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

On 9th October 2025, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) awarded the Harbour Operating Agreement (HOA3) to CalMac Ferries Limited (CFL) as part of a completed public procurement process involving services in the port and waterway operation industry. The procurement used a limited methodology without prior publication of a competition notice, a decision stemming from technical reasons due to CFL's established presence in ferry operations under CHFS3 in the Clyde and Hebrides. This contract, valued at £67,440,000, encompasses harbour operational duties across ports and harbours within the CHFS operating area, primarily in the regions UKM6 and UKM8. The award was finalised on 23rd September 2025 under the Utilities Contracts (Scotland) regulations, addressing essential infrastructure needs for lifeline ferry services.

This procurement process spotlights substantial business growth opportunities particularly for entities capable of providing comprehensive port and waterway operation services. Although the direct opportunity was not publicly competed due to specific technical limitations, firms experienced in harbour management and maritime operations could benefit by positioning themselves as strategic partners or subcontractors for CFL. This is especially relevant considering the dual role requirements combining ferry and harbour operational duties, a segment dominated by the singular economic operator status of CFL. Companies able to offer staffing solutions or specialised maritime equipment in remote areas might find ancillary opportunities beneficial in supporting such lifeline services.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

HOA3 - Harbour Operating Agreement

Notice Description

This notice concerns the award of a harbour operating agreement, known as HOA3, by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) to CalMac Ferries Limited (CFL). CMAL is the statutory harbour authority at certain harbours and other marine facilities and is responsible for the operation, management, maintenance and improvement of them. CFL is due to be appointed by Transport Scotland on behalf of Scottish Ministers as the operator of lifeline ferry services in the Clyde and Hebrides, under a ferry services contract known as CHFS3. Please refer to this notice published by Transport Scotland for further details: Notice ID: MAY529943. The CHFS3 services will call at the CMAL harbours. CMAL is awarding the HOA3 to CFL because it is the operator of CHFS3 and because of the need to have the same operator for both the ferry services and the harbour operations as explained in this notice.

Lot Information

Lot 1

CMAL intends to award the HOA3 to CFL following the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a call for competition under regulation 48 of the Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016. Regulation 48(1)(c)(ii) is applicable in this case due to the unique position of CFL as the lifeline ferry services operator under CHFS3, due to which competition for HOA3 is absent for technical reasons. Both HOA3 and CHFS3 involve the performance of harbour based duties at CMAL harbours: The harbour operating duties include: assessing navigational safety in the harbour, vessels mooring operations, operating pier equipment, inspecting harbour assets and reporting on defects, management of navigation, collection of third party harbour charges, liaison with third party tenants and harbour users, housekeeping (including cleaning slipways, cleaning ladders, weed-killing, septic tank emptying, potable water testing), managing waste at the harbours (generated on the harbour and from vessels), dealing with dangerous goods in harbour areas, managing harbour user conflict, managing harbour health and safety including permits to work, and acting as the first point of contact to deal with harbour emergencies and security issues. These duties are allocated to CFL under HOA3. The harbour based ferry operations duties include: managing ferry bookings (including sale of tickets), checking-in customers, face-to-face dealings with ferry customers, marshalling ferry traffic and pedestrians and manging ferry disruptions. These duties are allocated to CFL under CHFS3. Currently, and historically, the harbour operating duties and the harbour based ferry operations duties have always been delivered by the same operator entity, with the same workforce deployed to perform all the duties. Under this arrangement, individual staff members perform dual roles covering both harbour operations and ferry operations. For the reasons explained below, this is the only reasonable and viable means of delivering the services. CFL is the current incumbent operator of both the harbour operations (under a HOA2 contract awarded by CMAL on 22 August 2016) and the lifeline ferry services (under a CHFS2 contract award by The Scottish Ministers on 22 August 2016).

Procurement Information

See Additional information at VI.3

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0510bb
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/063715-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

63 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services

CPV Codes

63721000 - Port and waterway operation services and associated services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£137,440,000 £100M-£1B

Notice Dates

Publication Date
9 Oct 202510 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
12 May 20251 years ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (Utility)
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
PORT GLASGOW
Postcode
PA14 5EQ
Postcode Area
Paisley
Country
Scotland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM3 West Central Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM33 Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, and Renfrewshire
Delivery Location
TLM6 Highlands and Islands, TLM8 West Central Scotland
Local Authority
Inverclyde
Electoral Ward
Inverclyde East Central
Westminster Constituency
Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

CalMac Ferries Limited

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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