Award

Procurement of Marine Data Products

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

TenderCancellation

20 Aug 2025 at 07:54

UK12 - Procurement Termination Notice
Award

21 Jul 2025 at 14:12

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), located at Seacole Building, 2 Marsham Street, London, initiated a procurement process for "Procurement of Marine Data Products" focusing on data services within the public authority central government category. This tender was processed as a direct below-threshold procurement, justified by the absence of competition due to the technical expertise required that only OceanWise Limited could provide. The contract commenced on 1st August 2025 and will run until 31st July 2026, but a subsequent cancellation notice was issued on 20th August 2025 due to a revision of contract details.

The procurement, aimed at acquiring a Marine Digital Elevation Model for various applications, provides opportunities for businesses specialising in marine data services, particularly those with proprietary data and expertise like OceanWise Limited, an SME based in Eastbourne, UK. This highlights a specific business growth area for firms that can offer unique solutions in marine sustainability and data modelling, essential for supporting DEFRA’s environmental objectives. Such procurement processes suggest an avenue for growth for small and medium enterprises that can meet specific, targeted needs within the marine industry sector.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Procurement of Marine Data Products

Notice Description

The Marine Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is a dataset providing a representation of the estimated depth of the sea across the UK continental shelf. Some of the specific uses of this technology include habitat modelling, sediment mapping and determining the adequacy of the UK's Marine Protected Area network. The Oceanwise Marine DEM uses the best available marine data sources to ensure data coverage and quality. This dataset is owned by the Supplier within their Intellectual Property and therefore this can only be made available by Oceanwise. Access to this dataset is key in helping Defra meet marine sustainability goals and policies and it will be used by marine analysts across Defra group, Natural England, JNCC, the MMO and CEFAS. In line with the Procurement Act 2023, this complies with the thresholds for a Direct Award due to the following justification: "6. (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." This is because Oceanwise have the expertise and knowledge, along with ownership of the best available marine data sources, to produce a dataset that will replace legacy, poor-quality data that has been used previously. Additionally, given the nature of this procurement (i.e. below the Procurement Act threshold of PS139,688), this is a below threshold Direct Award and therefore is compliant with the Below Threshold rules within the Procurement Act 2023.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05631d
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/049999-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK5 - Transparency Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - without competition
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

CPV Codes

72300000 - Data services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£24,951 Under £100K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
20 Aug 20256 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
21 Jul 20257 months ago
Contract Period
31 Jul 2025 - 31 Jul 2026 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Cancelled
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Additional Buyers

MISSING

Contact Name
Tom Dubberley
Contact Email
tom.dubberley@defra.gov.uk
Contact Phone
+44 7827903738

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 4DF
Post Town
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

OCEANWISE

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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