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Classification and Technical Services for the Royal Navy

Defence Equipment and Support

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

20 Aug 2026 at 11:22

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Planning

23 Jul 2026 at 17:46

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Defence Equipment and Support is procuring classification and associated technical services for the Royal Navy’s fleet of surface vessels. The work covers classification activities supporting vessels operated and maintained to applicable commercial and naval standards, including surveys, plan appraisals and certification against the Lloyd’s Register Naval Ship Rules and Regulations. It also includes Naval Ship Stability Certification provided under delegated authority for the Naval Authority. The primary service category is content or data standardisation and classification services. Delivery applies across the United Kingdom and supports the Royal Navy’s maritime environment requirement. The requirement is managed by Defence Equipment and Support, a central government public authority, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Defence and the National Armaments Director Group – Materiel.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded by direct award under the Procurement Act 2023 special-cases provisions. It is a single-lot, closed framework agreement and the selected supplier is Lloyds Register EMEA. The award is valued at £13.75 million excluding VAT, or £16.5 million including VAT. The contract period is from 1 April 2027 to 30 September 2030, with two possible one-year extensions taking the maximum end date to 30 September 2032. The award rationale states that only Lloyd’s Register can provide equivalent certification against the existing naval rule set for the Royal Navy’s in-class surface vessels, for technical reasons and because there are no reasonable alternatives. A contract signature is scheduled for 25 March 2027.

This opportunity demonstrates sustained demand for specialist naval classification and technical assurance services within Defence Equipment and Support. A credible competitor for a future requirement would need recognised expertise in classification of naval surface vessels, including surveys, technical plan appraisal and certification against an established naval ship rules framework. Capability to support vessel stability certification and work within Naval Authority requirements would also be important. Suppliers would need the technical depth and operational capacity to work across an active fleet, maintain continuity through vessel survey cycles and manage the safety implications of classification decisions. Experience operating to both commercial and naval standards, together with the ability to provide authoritative certification and associated technical services, would position a supplier to compete when this requirement next reaches the market.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Classification and Technical Services for the Royal Navy

Notice Description

This requirement is for classification services and associated technical services for the Royal Navy's fleet of surface vessels. The approximate value of the framework is PS16.5M over 5.5 years (if the 2 option years are invoked). This is a closed framework agreement with Lloyds Register EMEA.

Procurement Information

The National Armaments Director Group - Materiel on behalf of the Secretary of State for Defence is seeking to place a contract with Lloyd's Register EMEA (Lloyd's Register) to satisfy the Maritime Environment requirement for classification services for Royal Navy (RN) surface vessels. This procurement falls to be governed by the Procurement Act 2023 (the "PA23") Chapter 3, Section 41: Direct Award in Special Cases. It is considered that direct award of the proposed contract is lawful in accordance with PA23 Schedule 5(6) as the classification services cannot for technical reasons by carried out by a different supplier and there are no reasonable alternatives to these services. The RN surface vessels are operated and maintained to commercial and naval standards (as applicable) and are subject to classification society rules and Naval Authority (NA) rules. Lloyd's Register has co-authored the Lloyd's Register Naval Ship Rules and Regulations (LRNSR) for the Classification of Ships and Naval Ships. Only Lloyd's Register, the parent Classification Society of the LRNSR rule set, can conduct surveys, plan appraisals, and provide certification against any RN surface vessels which are classified as being "in-class" in accordance with the LRNSR. In operating and maintaining surface vessels in line with LRNSR, it is not possible for another Classification Society to provide equivalent certification against an alternative set of Naval Ship rules. Changing the rule set in respect of which all RN surface vessels are currently classified would introduce an unacceptable level of safety risk to the vessels and personnel. There would also be significant operational impacts and cost implications resulting from the required dual running of contracts as the vessels progress through their existing 6-year survey cycle and transition following completion of full surveys by any new supplier. Lloyd's Register is the only classification society for the RN surface vessels to which the NAD Naval Authority Group has delegated authority for issuing Naval Ship Stability Certification on its behalf.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06d28c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079361-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK5 - Transparency Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

72330000 - Content or data standardization and classification services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£13,333,333 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£13,750,000 £10M-£100M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
20 Aug 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
1 Sep 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Apr 2027 - 30 Sep 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Defence Equipment and Support
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BRISTOL
Postcode
BS34 8JH
Postcode Area
Bristol
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK5 West of England
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK52 Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
South Gloucestershire
Electoral Ward
Stoke Park & Cheswick
Westminster Constituency
Filton and Bradley Stoke

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Lloyd's Register EMEA

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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