---
title: "Natural England Dive Unit: Provision of dive vessel for Isles of Scilly kelp survey 2027"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06ed14"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06ed14"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ed14.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ed14.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Tender"
buyer: "Natural England"
published: "2026-08-27"
---

# Natural England Dive Unit: Provision of dive vessel for Isles of Scilly kelp survey 2027

Buyer: Natural England  
Current stage: Tender  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06ed14

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## Summary

Natural England is procuring a crewed dive vessel to support scientific diving operations for a kelp forest survey. The work will examine kelp forest communities within the Isles of Scilly Complex Special Area of Conservation. The requirement is for a suitably coded vessel and crew capable of supporting the survey team’s diving activities at sea. This is a vessel-hire service with crew, rather than a contract to carry out the ecological survey itself. Delivery is in the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom. The buying organisation is Natural England, a central government public authority. Businesses should therefore be involved in marine vessel hire, commercial diving support or offshore survey logistics, with access to an appropriately coded vessel and crew for operations around the Isles of Scilly.

The process has reached tender: Natural England invited offers through a below-threshold open competition. There is one lot, and the quotation must meet the requirements in the Request for Quotation. Responses must be sent by email by 12 noon on 18 September 2026. The contract period runs from 15 June to 31 July 2027, with the vessel required for eight survey days during that period. The estimated value is £18,000 excluding VAT, or £21,600 including VAT. Natural England has reserved an option for additional purchases. The lot is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. The award criteria are set out in full in the Request for Quotation, which also contains the detailed technical and commercial requirements.

This opportunity suits marine operators that hire sea-going vessels with crew and can support scientific diving operations. Suppliers need to provide a suitably coded vessel and crew for work associated with a kelp survey in a protected marine area. Relevant strengths include experience operating vessels safely around the Isles of Scilly, supporting dive teams, and providing reliable offshore logistics for scheduled survey activity. The requirement is limited to vessel and crew provision, so it is most relevant to businesses with an existing vessel operation rather than ecological consultancies seeking to deliver the survey findings. Small and medium-sized enterprises are explicitly considered suitable. The attached Request for Quotation sets the detailed vessel, crew, technical, operational and commercial requirements against which suppliers will be assessed.

## Notice

Natural England plan to undertake scientific dive surveys of kelp forest communities within the Isles of Scilly Complex Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in summer 2027. This tender relates solely to the provision of a suitably coded vessel and crew to support the scientific diving operations associated with this project.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Options: Vessel required for 8 survey days during available contract period

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081554-2026 |
| Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - open competition |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Tender |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 27 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 18 Sep 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 15 Jun 2027 - 31 Jul 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £18,000 |
| Lots value | £18,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Active |
| Lots status | Active |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Natural England |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Postcode area | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 4DF |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | TLK South West (England) |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

### Codes

- 60651100 - Hire of sea-going vessels with crew

## Release History

- 27 Aug 2026 at 07:42 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081554-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081554-2026
  27th August 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/A-21584
  RFQ
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/A-21585
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/A-21586
  Order Form
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/A-21587
  Commercial Response Template

## 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-06ed14. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ed14.json.