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NICTS Appointment of a Broker to commission the sale of an arrested shipping vessel

Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS)

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

09 Sep 2026 at 13:28

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

27 Aug 2026 at 09:38

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

25 Aug 2026 at 10:27

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service appointed a broker to appraise and arrange the sale of an arrested shipping vessel. The vessel is berthed in Belfast Harbour, and the requirement covers ship brokerage services, including independent valuation and sale arrangements. The work supports the Admiralty Marshal’s responsibilities under Northern Ireland court rules following the vessel’s arrest and a court order for its sale. The broker is responsible for dealing with the appraisal and sale rather than providing general maritime services. NICTS is the buying organisation, with CPD – Supplies & Services Division providing the central procurement function. Delivery is in the United Kingdom, centred on Belfast Harbour and the vessel held there.

This procurement is complete and has been awarded through a direct award. The contract was awarded to Withheld Section 94 Supplier, whose identity is withheld in the published data. The award date was 25 August 2026, the contract was signed on 9 September 2026, and the contract period runs from 10 September 2026 to 31 March 2027. The awarded value is £175,000 excluding VAT, or £210,000 including VAT. The award is for one completed lot and is above the relevant threshold. NICTS relied on extreme and unavoidable urgency, single-supplier technical reasons and regulated costs, citing accumulating berthing and crew costs and the need to sell the vessel before those costs outweigh its value. The award is active and the contract is active.

This outcome identifies a specialist maritime broker as the credible supplier profile for this buyer’s requirement. Relevant capability includes valuing vessels independently, marketing and negotiating their sale, and managing the practical and legal requirements associated with an arrested vessel. Experience of Admiralty Marshal instructions, court-directed sales, maritime law and port requirements would be particularly relevant. Suppliers would also need to work effectively while a vessel remains berthed, coordinate with Belfast Harbour and manage the operational implications of a mandatory skeleton crew. The procurement indicates that NICTS values a provider able to act quickly in an urgent, legally controlled sale and to offer transparent, legislation-based charges. Experience delivering comparable broker services elsewhere in the United Kingdom would strengthen future credibility.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

NICTS Appointment of a Broker to commission the sale of an arrested shipping vessel

Notice Description

The Chief Enforcement Officer, in their capacity as Admiralty Marshal pursuant to Schedule 1, Order 75 of the Rules of the Court of Judicature (Northern Ireland) 1980, executed a Warrant of Arrest against a vessel in May 2026. The vessel has remained berthed in Belfast Harbour since then. An Order for the sale of the vessel was made in July 2026, followed by a further Order in August 2026 directing the Admiralty Marshal to commission the appraisement and sale of the vessel. The authority for the Admiralty Marshal to undertake these functions arises under Order 75. The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) is required to appoint a provider to deal with the appraisal and sale.

Procurement Information

There are direct award justifications provided for under Section 41 and Schedule 5 of the PA 2023 which permit a Contracting Authority to award a public contract to a single supplier where the supplies or services can only be supplied by a particular supplier and the following conditions are met:- Where-- (a) the goods, services or works to be supplied under the public contract are strictly necessary for reasons of extreme and unavoidable urgency, and (b) as a result the public contract cannot be awarded on the basis of a competitive tendering procedure. NICTS has been tasked with sourcing a broker to appraise the vessel ready for sale and delays in appointing the broker will increase the overall costs to the NICTS which are payable from the sale. There is a time pressure to secure the sale of the vessel as soon as practical, as daily mooring fees are being incurred and the totality of these fees is deducted from the sale value of the vessel. At this stage the value of the vessel is unappraised as NICTS cannot engage an independent valuer until the broker is appointed. Furthermore, a skeleton crew must remain onboard the vessel until it is sold. This is a mandatory requirement in line with Maritime Law and Health and Safety requirements of Belfast Harbour. Weekly berthing costs are therefore accruing, as well as the crew's wages which the creditor has agreed to pay, so it is therefore imperative that the vessel is sold before the costs outweigh the sale value. A competitive tender competition would therefore not be seen as demonstrating best value for money (VFM). In addition, it is noted that the supplier is also the appointed provider within GB mainland and their costs are set in UK legislation under Practice Direction 61 of the Civil Procedure Rules. The costs for this provision are exactly as set out in said legislation, therefore demonstrating VFM.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06eb3c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085387-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

63 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services

CPV Codes

63522000 - Ship brokerage services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£175,000 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
£175,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
9 Sep 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
25 Aug 20262 months ago
Contract Period
10 Sep 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS)
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BELFAST
Postcode
BT1 3LA
Postcode Area
Northern Ireland
Country
Northern Ireland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLN Northern Ireland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLN0 Northern Ireland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLN06 Belfast
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Belfast
Electoral Ward
Central
Westminster Constituency
Belfast South and Mid Down

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Supplier N/A

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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