Marine Survey Tenders and Contracts

Marine survey tenders cover hydrographic and bathymetric surveys, seabed mapping, and related marine and coastal survey services procured by UK and Irish public sector buyers.

Stotles brings together marine survey tenders and contracts from 100+ portals into one search, so you do not have to check each portal separately, and you can set alerts for new opportunities across the UK and Ireland.

If you want to search the government portals directly, Find a Tender carries higher-value contracts across the UK and Contracts Finder carries lower-value contracts in England. Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI cover Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Ireland's eTenders covers Irish public bodies, and many councils, NHS bodies and housing associations publish on their own e-tendering portals such as ProContract. Marine survey is often let as multi-party frameworks by port authorities, or bundled into dredging and coastal engineering contracts.

Marine survey tenders are scored on survey methodology, vessel and equipment capability, data quality standards, safety and price. Port frameworks run for several years, so a framework place opens up repeat work.

Hydrographic surveys are usually expected to meet IHO survey standards, survey vessels must hold the right coding and certification, and marine works may need a marine licence. Tenders usually set minimum insurance cover, check financial standing and ask for evidence of similar contracts at selection stage. Under the Procurement Act 2023, suppliers can be excluded for certain criminal convictions, insolvency or failure to pay tax.

Some marine survey and hydrographic survey work is procured through multi-year framework agreements, and other requirements are tendered as single contracts.

Port and harbour authorities, government maritime agencies and coastal infrastructure operators procure marine survey and hydrographic survey work as part of dredging, port development and environmental monitoring projects.

Read port development plans, dredging and coastal engineering programmes, marine protected area monitoring programmes and offshore energy and cable route plans, which show work coming due ahead of a notice. On Stotles you can track those signals and the buyers behind them, then follow a notice from pre-tender through to award.

Marine survey notices carry 38292000 (Hydrographic instruments), 38290000 (Surveying, hydrographic, oceanographic and hydrological instruments and appliances), 63726800 (Research vessel services) and 34513550 (Survey vessels).