---
title: "CEFAS25-48 Contract for provision of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) flights for Hinkley Point C"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0507ca"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0507ca"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0507ca.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0507ca.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SCIENCE"
published: "2025-04-25"
---

# CEFAS25-48 Contract for provision of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) flights for Hinkley Point C

Buyer: CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SCIENCE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0507ca

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## Summary

The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science has awarded a contract for the provision of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) flights for the Hinkley Point C nuclear project. The procurement falls under the "services" category, with the award made directly, bypassing competitive tendering due to its classification as below threshold. The contract covers operations in various regions across the United Kingdom, including Lowestoft, where the buying organisation is based. The contract, titled "CEFAS25-48", started on 20th February 2025 and is set to run until 31st May 2025, with possible extensions up to 30th September 2025. The overall project is aligned with UK government guidelines and seeks to ensure environmental monitoring for regulatory compliance.

This procurement presents substantial growth opportunities for businesses specialising in advanced survey solutions and environmental monitoring technologies. Firms with expertise in providing RPAs and the capability to produce high-resolution data and imagery will find this tender particularly appealing. Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) like Marine Science Support Ltd, which eventually secured the contract, demonstrate that businesses with a niche focus on marine and environmental science applications are well-suited to succeed in such tenders. The contract, valued at £52,682.29, showcases potential revenue streams for companies that can deliver precise and compliant data operations, thus expanding their footprint in the public procurement sphere.

## Notice

The BEEMS (British EDF Estuarine and Marine Studies) programme is funded by NNB Generation Company (HPC) Limited. Through this programme, Cefas provide authoritative scientific information on the marine and transitional waters in the vicinity of potential new build nuclear power stations. Cefas require a supplier to conduct intertidal Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) flights, in accordance with the civil Aviation Authority (CAA) guidelines, to monitor potential coastal change and intertidal algal coverage for the Hinkley Point C (HPC) Nuclear New Build project to meet regulatory environmental monitoring requirements. RPA flights and photography are required: (1) along the Hinkley Point foreshore, and; (2) at Combwich Wharf and the surrounding banks of the River Parrett. Flight/survey design and equipment specification must be sufficient for Cefas to create orthophotos (OPs) and Digital Surface Models (DSMs) with a Ground Sampling Distance (GSD, i.e. resolution) of 3cm/pixel or better (exceptions noted in Appendix 4 - Specification of Requirements).

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017094-2025 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - without competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 25 Apr 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 19 Feb 2025 |
| Contract period | 20 Feb 2025 - 31 May 2025 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £52,682 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SCIENCE |
| Locality | LOWESTOFT |
| Post town | Norwich |
| Postcode | NR33 0HT |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH6 Suffolk |
| ITL 3 | TLH63 East Suffolk |
| Local authority | East Suffolk |
| Electoral ward | Kirkley & Pakefield |
| Westminster constituency | Lowestoft |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | MARINE SCIENCE SUPPORT |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 79311000 - Survey services

## Release History

- 25 Apr 2025 at 14:16 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017094-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017094-2025
  25th April 2025 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0507ca. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0507ca.json.