The Ministry of Defence has published a pipeline notice for the assurance vetting of ocean tankers carrying its fuel, worth an estimated £87,530 over five years from February 2027.
The notice, which refers to the department throughout as the Authority, sets out a need for “assurance vetting of Ocean Tankers under contract to the Authority, either directly, or obtained by fuel Suppliers for delivery to the Authority’s sites under the Authority’s fuel supply contracts”.
Most of that traffic runs on two vessels. “The Authority has two ships on long term charter, which provide the majority of the Authority’s fuel transport requirement”, the notice states, adding that “these ships will require annual TMSA”, the Tanker Management and Self Assessment scheme used across the industry to benchmark ship operators.
The rest arrives on hulls the department does not choose itself. Some consignments are taken under Delivery Duty Paid terms, and as the notice puts it, “under DDP, the supplier of the fuel is responsible for delivery, which normally involves that company chartering a ship on the spot market”. The department therefore requires “an expert provider of vessel risk evaluation services to provide a vetting service”.
The estimated duration is five years, “from Februrary 2027 until February 2032”, with contract dates given as 19 February 2027 to 18 February 2032. Total value is put at £87,530 excluding VAT, or £105,036 including it.
A tender notice is expected on 17 September 2026 under the open procedure, with the requirement recorded as above threshold and of particular suitability to “Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)”.
The notice carries the reference DOEA/0084-ShipVetting 2027-2032 and was published on 29 July, with a further edit on 3 August replacing an earlier version. The contracting authority is the Ministry of Defence at Abbeywood in Bristol, with enquiries directed to a UK Strategic Command commercial fuel address.
Classifications attached to the notice cover tanker ships, ship operating services, marine survey services, maritime safety inspection services, statutory audit services and activity specific environmental auditing, pointing to a service assessing operator standards and vessel condition rather than anything performed on the ships themselves.
MOD used to have access to a fully vetted, fitted for RAS rigs, crews trained alongside the RFA fleet of civikian fast tankers – Sold off by HMG in the early 80’s.