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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 2 releases in its history.

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 (NICTS) appointed a broker to appraise and arrange the sale of an arrested shipping vessel. The vessel was arrested under Northern Ireland court authority and has been berthed in Belfast Harbour. The requirement covers ship brokerage services, including appraisal and sale activity commissioned by the Admiralty Marshal. CPD – Supplies & Services Division manages the procurement for NICTS and provides central procurement support for Northern Ireland central government. The work concerns a specific admiralty enforcement matter rather than general vessel sales or routine marine transport. Delivery is in the United Kingdom, with the vessel and the immediate operational context located in Belfast Harbour. Suppliers with specialist ship brokerage capability and experience handling court-directed vessel sales are the most relevant.

The procurement is complete and was awarded on 25 August 2026. It used a direct award to a single supplier rather than a competitive tender, under the extreme and unavoidable urgency and single-supplier technical-reasons justifications provided in the notice. The award is pending and covers one lot. The selected supplier is withheld under Section 94 disclosure provisions. The awarded value is £175,000 excluding VAT and £210,000 including VAT. The award period runs from 10 September 2026 to 31 March 2027. A standstill period ends on 8 September 2026, with contract signature scheduled for 9 September 2026. NICTS states that delay would increase costs payable from the vessel sale, while the supplier’s charges follow UK legislation and are therefore fixed.

This award demonstrates demand from NICTS for specialist ship brokerage in court-led enforcement and asset-sale work. A credible competitor for a future requirement would need to appraise vessels accurately, market them effectively and manage the sale through to completion, while working within the directions of the Admiralty Marshal and the Northern Ireland courts. Relevant experience would include arrested or distressed vessels, maritime asset realisation, valuation, sale administration and coordination with harbour, legal and enforcement stakeholders. Suppliers should also understand the procedural requirements of admiralty matters and be able to manage work whose duration depends on completing all project activities. Familiarity with regulated brokerage charges and public-sector value-for-money requirements would strengthen a competing proposition. The selected provider was treated as able to provide these services as a single supplier.

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 incur will increase the overall costs to the NICTS which are payable from the sale. A competitive tender competition would therefore not be seen as demonstrating best value for money. 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/081607-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award 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
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
27 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
25 Aug 20261 weeks 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
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

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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