Aerial Dispersant Spray (ADS) Service
Information relating to the procurement of the Aerial Dispersant Spray service including background information, upcoming events and links to resources.
Background
As an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport (DfT), the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) supports the Department in developing and implementing the Government’s maritime safety and environmental protection strategy by:
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Setting standards and regulation
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Checking the standards of ships and seafarers
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Providing services to seafarers
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Monitoring our coasts and seas and responding to emergencies.
We have two broad objectives:
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Safety: Through accident prevention and effective search and rescue coordination and response, improve the safety of ships and people at sea and at the coast
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Environment: Through our monitoring of ships and response to pollution incidents, protect the marine environment
Our vision is to be a world-class organisation that is committed to preventing loss of life, continuously improving maritime safety, and protecting the marine environment.
“Safer Lives, Safer Ships, Cleaner Seas”
Aerial Dispersant Spray Service
The MCA has a statutory responsibility to respond to marine oil spills throughout the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The EEZ extends to 200 nautical miles from the coastline or to the nearest median line with neighbouring coastal states. This equates to c. 17,000 km of coastline and c. 773,000 km2 of sea area. The MCA is also bound by an international agreement to assist neighbouring states which have requested support in responding to oil spills.
The MCA has a number of contracts for services to support our objectives, including a contract for Aerial Dispersant Spray Services which can respond to oil spills. This service provides aircraft which are capable of carrying and rapidly applying large quantities of chemical dispersant to an oil slick. The chemical dispersants act to break up oil slicks and accelerate the process of biodegradation (the consumption of oil by microorganisms). Aerial Dispersant Spray is most suited to large oil spills in deeper water away from shore.
Current service
The current Aerial Dispersant Spray Service consists of:
| Item | Information | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1x Test Spray Aircraft | Cessna F406 fitted with a 1.5 tonne test spray pod | Applies a small quantity of dispersant to an oil slick, to test its effectiveness before larger quantities are applied |
| 1x Spotter Aircraft | King Air B200 fitted with an EO/IR high resolution camera for both full motion video and still imagery, satphone and marine band VHF radio | Provides an overwatch capability ensuring the safety of, and accurate targeting by, the main spray aircraft. It also assesses and relays reports on the effect the dispersant is having on an oil slick |
| 2x Main Spray Aircraft | Boeing 737 400s with fixed fittings to take the Oil Dispersant Spray Kit | Delivers and sprays dispersant to target oil slicks with a capacity of 15,900 litres per flight. |
| 2 x Oil Dispersant Spray Kit | Oil Dispersant Spray Kit can carry 15,900 litres of dispersant |
Procurement
During 2024 and 2025 the MCA plans to run a procurement for a replacement Aerial Dispersant Spray service. It is our intention to facilitate the broadest possible market participation in this.
Events
We plan to run a variety of online events for industry to attend to find out more about the project. An initial industry event was held on 7 March 2024. You can watch a recording of the event here.
Timeline
| Procurement Activity | Dates |
|---|---|
| Publication of Early Market Engagement | March 2023 |
| Market engagement | March 2023 to March 2024 |
| Contracts Finder Early Engagement Notice | November 2023 |
| Procurement cycle | July 2024 to October 2025* |
| Anticipated contract award | October 2025* |
| Service commencement | February 2027 |
Resources
Contracts Finder
AERIAL DISPERSANT SPRAY (ADS) SERVICE page on the GOV.UK Contracts Finder
Jaggaer
Department for Transport sourcing portal Jaggaer
Model services contract
The Model Services Contract will be used as a basis for the contract for the Aerial Dispersant Spray Service. However, this is not the proposed contract but rather a starting point from which the MCA’s drafting will begin. The base document will be amended and changed to match MCA’s requirements. Areas will be added, varied and deleted as required.
Resources
Last updated 5 April 2024 + show all updates
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Q&A document has been added.
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First published.