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RFI - Proposed removal of oil from the wreck of HMS CASSANDRA - Baltic.

National Armaments Director Group (formerly Defence Equipment and Support)

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

08 Sep 2026 at 13:56

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The National Armaments Director Group, formerly Defence Equipment and Support, is researching services to remove and dispose of oil remaining in the wreck of HMS CASSANDRA, a First World War Royal Navy cruiser lying in the Baltic Sea off Estonia. The wreck is approximately 95 to 100 metres below the surface and partly buried in the seabed on its starboard side. The scope covers oil removal from exposed port-side tanks and an accessible starboard tank at the stern, supported by marine surveying, vessel salvage, remotely operated vehicle work, oil-spill control and quantity surveying. The intended delivery location is Estonia. The requirement is a defence and security service, and the work is expected to be delivered as a two-stage project: a viability assessment followed by possible intervention and disposal.

This is a planning-stage Request for Information and preliminary market engagement, not an invitation to tender or a formal solicitation. The authority expects a future procurement notice around 1 April 2027 and currently describes one planned lot. Indicative contract delivery is expected from 1 April 2028 to 1 April 2029. The estimated value is £30,000,000 excluding VAT and £36,000,000 including VAT. Suppliers are being asked to explain methods for a two-stage approach: first assess whether the wreck hull can safely support hot-tapping and make a go/no-go decision; then, if approved, remove and legally dispose of the oil with environmental safeguards. RFI responses, including rough-order-of-magnitude costs, are expected by 16 October 2026. The planned lot is identified as suitable for SMEs and VCSEs.

This engagement will suit marine salvage and subsea engineering businesses able to plan and execute operations at around 95 to 100 metres’ depth, including teams using remotely operated vehicles and marine survey technology. Relevant capability includes assessing the structural strength and condition of a partly buried wreck, accessing exposed and accessible fuel tanks, designing a safe hot-tapping or equivalent oil-recovery method, and managing separate offshore deployments. Suppliers should be prepared to explain environmental safeguards, oil-spill prevention and response, lawful transport and disposal arrangements, operational dependencies and key assumptions. The authority is seeking practical methodologies and innovative approaches rather than responses in a prescribed format, with supporting survey information available on written request. Partnerships between salvage, survey, environmental and waste-management specialists may be well placed to address the full scope.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

RFI - Proposed removal of oil from the wreck of HMS CASSANDRA - Baltic.

Notice Description

A Request for Information (RFI) in connection with the removal and disposal of the oil remaining on the wreck of HMS CASSANDRA, a WWI era Royal Navy cruiser sunk off the coast of Estonia in the Baltic Sea on 05 December 1918 after striking a naval mine. The wreck is at an approximate depth of 95 to 100 metres (312 to 328 feet) beneath the water surface, part buried in the seabed on its starboard side in position 58.47783deg N / 21.2280deg E. Photogrammetry of HMS CASSANDRA is available at: https://oceandiscovery.org/en/projekt/hms-cassandra/ Upon written request to DESCommercial-SALMO@mod.gov.uk, copies of the latest HMS CASSANDRA survey report are available for purpose of informing a response to this RFI.

Planning Information

The Contracting Authority seeks information on Industry’s capability and approaches to removal and disposal of the oil remaining on the wreck of HMS CASSANDRA. Accordingly, suppliers are invited to respond to this RFI outlining methods for: 1. Oil removal from the exposed port side tanks and the accessible starboard tank at the stern. 2. In particular addressing how they would deliver such requirement as a two-stage project: a. Stage 1 (Viability Assessment): Determination of whether the hull of the wreck retains sufficient strength to enable an oil removal (hot-tapping) operation to be safely and successfully undertaken. This stage will conclude with a go/no-go decision on whether to proceed with oil removal based on the assessment of the data collected. b. Stage 2 (Intervention): Remove the oil, with appropriate environmental safeguards in place, and safely dispose of the oil in accordance with appropriate legislation. Note: It is envisaged that Stages 1 and 2 will comprise separate deployments to the wreck, potentially separated by a period of several weeks or months. This is to allow a fully informed go/no-go decision based on the results of Stage 1 and, if the decision is made to proceed with the oil removal, time to plan in detail and enact the operation. Furthermore, suppliers are kindly requested to provide a Rough Order of Magnitude (RoM) cost for performance of the relevant work in line with the methods they have outlined. Suppliers are requested to email their responses to this RFI to DESCommercial-SALMO@mod.gov.uk by the applicable engagement deadline. The Contracting Authority has not specified a format for any response as this can limit creativity and make it difficult to understand. Therefore, suppliers are free to present information in their preferred format, provided it is compatible with MS Office. To minimise the need for further clarification, suppliers are encouraged to clearly detail any relevant methodologies, anticipated processes, key assumptions (including applicable environmental safeguards, laws, and regulations), and dependencies, as appropriate. If suppliers have any questions to inform an RFI response, these can be submitted to DESCommercial-SALMO@mod.gov.uk. To ensure transparency of information, any questions and answers will be published in an anonymised format. Suppliers are therefore encouraged not to include the identity of their organisation within the content of any question. If a supplier believes that a particular question should not be published, they must inform the Contracting Authority of such when asking the question. Publication of the question and response will be at the sole discretion of the Contracting Authority, provided that a supplier may withdraw its question any time prior to receipt of a response. The Contracting Authority reserves the right to clarify the contents of any RFI response received with the originator. In doing so, the Contracting Authority will act proportionately and seek to minimise the burden on suppliers who have voluntarily responded to this RFI. This RFI is issued solely for information, market research, and planning purposes. It does not constitute a formal solicitation, Request for Proposal (RFP), or obligation to contract. The Authority shall not be liable for any costs incurred in the preparation of responses. Any cost information contained in an RFI response and any information furnished by the Contracting Authority in connection with this notice—excluding the notice itself and any public data accessible through hyperlinks embedded within the notice—shall be treated as strictly confidential by the recipient. The recipient shall not disclose such information to any third party without prior written consent of the originator, provided that this shall in no way limit the ability of the Contracting Authority to disclose such information to its officers, employees, agents or advisers or other UK government departments or the Estonian government. By submitting a response, each respondent grants the Contracting Authority a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, and worldwide licence to use, reproduce, and distribute the submitted information for evaluation, feasibility assessment, and the drafting of subsequent procurement documents and to enable third parties to use, reproduce, and distribute the submitted information on behalf of the Contracting Authority for the same purposes. Provided that any cost information shall be subject always to the foregoing confidentiality obligation. For the avoidance of doubt, responses to this RFI will be used by or on behalf of the Authority solely for the purposes of preliminary market engagement, as defined in Regulation 16 of the Procurement Act 2023. The associated opportunity listing is accessible at: https://contracts.mod.uk/esop/guest/go/opportunity/detail?opportunityId=61368

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f491
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084907-2026
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, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

63 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services

CPV Codes

63725100 - Vessel-salvaging services

63726620 - ROV services

71324000 - Quantity surveying services

71354500 - Marine survey services

90741200 - Oil spillage control services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£30,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
8 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
1 Apr 20277 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Apr 2028 - 1 Apr 2029 1-2 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
National Armaments Director Group (formerly 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

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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