Planning

Provision of Data on Commercial Shipping Services

OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

18 Mar 2026 at 13:35

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) plans to procure commercial shipping data services, as detailed in the tender titled "Provision of Data on Commercial Shipping Services". This procurement process, currently in the planning stage, addresses the services industry category with a focus on data services. Prospective suppliers should express their interest before 1st April 2026 by submitting relevant organisational information. ONS seeks comprehensive and reliable data on transport services provided by the UK shipping fleet, highlighting monetary aspects such as passenger and freight revenue, charter payments, disbursement costs, and ship management fees. The services required are to support the ONS's role in deriving statistics essential for UK Trade, GDP, and Balance of Payments calculations. The contract runs from 1st July 2026 to 30th June 2029, and interested parties should register via the DPS Data SaSiE platform.

This tender offers significant growth opportunities for businesses specialising in shipping and data service provision, especially those capable of offering detailed and segmented data across various ship types and related expenses. It is well-suited for shipping companies that can deliver quarterly and annual data, contributing crucial insights into international shipping operations and their economic interactions. Engaging with ONS provides an opportunity to collaborate with a leading statisticians' organisation, enhancing data integrity and public resource efficiency. By taking part in this procurement process, businesses can help develop more accurate and timely statistics benefitting the wider public sector, generating potential funding if requirements are adequately met. Small and medium-sized enterprises are encouraged to apply, as the contract is deemed suitable for them.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of Data on Commercial Shipping Services

Notice Description

About the Office for National Statistics (ONS) ONS is the UK's largest independent producer of official statistics and is the National Statistical Institute for the UK. Formally, it is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-Ministerial Department established by the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. It is responsible for collecting and publishing statistics related to the economy, population, and society at national, regional and local levels. ONS plays a leading role in national and international good practice in the production of official statistics. Introduction The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has a need for reliable, comprehensive, and easy-to-use information about the transport services provided or received by the UK shipping fleet, including any goods purchased during, or to support, the provision of transport. Overview We require Quarterly and Annual estimates are required broken down by ship type covering: - Passenger revenue collected outside the UK - Freight revenue for transporting goods - Charter receipts from a non-UK company - Charter payments to a non-UK company - Disbursements on bunkers/lubricants - Disbursements on catering, ship stores and other goods - Disbursements on services purchased - Repair and maintenance costs - Ship management fees Disbursements are voyage-related expenses, mainly incurred when ships visit ports. Examples of the types of services purchased to include are: - Cargo handling - Warehousing/storage charges - Port dues, pilotage, and towage, - Canal dues (Suez, Panama etc.) - Maintenance of shore establishments abroad - Advances made to crews whilst abroad, whether UK nationals or not - Other Services such as agency fees/commissions incurred abroad It is essential for the data to be broken down into different ship types for both quarterly and annual data. Examples of ship types to include are: - Container, Bulk carrier, and Other Dry Cargo - Tanker and Liquefied Gas Carrier - Offshore support vessels/non-cargo - Cruise/Passenger ships and Roll-on Roll-off ferries It is essential that the annual data can also be further broken-down by the: - Load and unload country for freight data. - Country the passenger revenue is collected from overseas or the residency of the non-UK passenger for passenger revenue. - Country the disbursement is incurred in regardless of where the payment was made for all disbursements. - Nationality of the company or the country the ship is being chartered to or from for the chartering data. - Number of non-UK vessels managed by UK companies and UK vessels managed by non-UK owners for the ship management fees data. The data will need to be sent in an excel/csv format. The quarterly data will need to be available one month after the quarter has ended and the annual data available five months after the year has ended. The data collected will be used to derive and publish statistics on the provision of shipping services. These aggregated statistics feed into the calculation of UK Trade, Gross Domestic Product and Balance of Payments. The types of organisations that should consider contacting us: Any type of shipping company that can provide the information above What can a contract with ONS offer? An opportunity to work with a world class statistics organisation, to create better and more timely statistics to be used by all for the benefit of the public good. There is a possibility for this work to be funded if all requirements are met by the provider. How to register When you have expressed an interest, please submit a return to Sophie.keal@ons.gov.uk with the following information to allow ONS to have an understanding of what your company can offer. Please include as a minimum: * Organisation Name * Contact details * Brief description of primary activity of organisation * Type of data you can provide and support available Any future tenders may be conducted through ONS's 'DPS Data SaSiE'. If you would like to sign up for this in readiness to receive any future tender packs, please search for the DPS title on the e-tendering portal and 'opt in'. This will take you through to the associated documentation for your organisation to apply. Additional Information This Exercise is NOT a pre-qualification or selection exercise and is NOT part of any pre-qualification or selection process that may apply to any future potential procurement. It is intended to act as an awareness and information gathering exercise offering an opportunity for suppliers to advise the extent to which they potentially can provide some or all the services that ONS may require, in order to help ONS with its future intentions.

Planning Information

How to register When you have expressed an interest, please submit a return to Sophie.keal@ons.gov.uk with the following information to allow ONS to have an understanding of what your company can offer. Please include as a minimum:  • Organisation Name  • Contact details   • Brief description of primary activity of organisation   • Type of data you can provide and support available   Any future tenders may be conducted through ONS's 'DPS Data SaSiE'. If you would like to sign up for this in readiness to receive any future tender packs, please search for the DPS title on the e-tendering portal and 'opt in'. This will take you through to the associated documentation for your organisation to apply. Additional Information This Exercise is NOT a pre-qualification or selection exercise and is NOT part of any pre-qualification or selection process that may apply to any future potential procurement. It is intended to act as an awareness and information gathering exercise offering an opportunity for suppliers to advise the extent to which they potentially can provide some or all the services that ONS may require, in order to help ONS with its future intentions.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-066d9c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/024614-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

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
£85,000 Under £100K
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
18 Mar 20264 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
1 Apr 20262 weeks to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
30 Jun 2026 - 30 Jun 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
NEWPORT
Postcode
NP10 8XG
Post Town
Newport
Country
Wales
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLL Wales
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLL5 South East Wales
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLL54 Monmouthshire and Newport
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Newport
Electoral Ward
Tredegar Park and Marshfield
Westminster Constituency
Newport West and Islwyn

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

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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