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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Life Saving Appliances

Home Office · Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 5 Oct 2026, 08:46.

Opportunity overview

To engage an organisation to provide Life Saving appliances for in water and mass casualty rescue of migrants crossing the Dover straits in small boats. The Home Office (HO) is responsible for securing UK borders and ensuring that all migrants attempting to enter the UK by small boats are safely and swiftly intercepted. The Home Office currently operates a fleet of dedicated charter rescue vessels in the English Channel, working in cooperation with HM Coastguard to undertake SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) rescue operations. The rescue vessels carry a variety of additional lifesaving appliances dedicated to the rescue mission that can be rapidly deployed to aid those in the water. The Home Office wants to understand what/which suppliers can provide the appliances listed below. 1-PERSON (SINGLE) AUTO-INFLATE HORSESHOE SAR RESCUE APPLIANCE The appliance should be specifically designed for use in search and rescue (SAR) situations at sea or in any waterway, allowing increased accuracy by an under or over arm throw. The SAR horseshoe should offer a more ergonomic and streamline design for improved deployment to provide buoyancy to a Man Over Board (MOB) casualty and must include as a minimum: • Automatic inflation • Retro-reflective tape • Compact to store in a soft case, • Quick & easy to deploy • Lightweight • Oral tube for top up • Automatic light 20+ PERSON AUTO-INFLATE SAR RESCUE COLLARS (“DONUT SHAPED”) • Specifically designed for mass casualty in-water events • Automatic inflation • Retro-reflective tape • Quick and easy to deploy • Automatic light • Stored in a soft case EMERGENCY WATER-ACTIVATED STROBE LIGHTING • Lighting units specifically designed to be added to horseshoe rescue appliances and rescue collars (including spare units for servicing). • Manual and automatic water activation by integral sensor points • Ultra bright powerful white flashing LED dome light (minimum 2.5cd and duration of 40hours light) • Fixing clip for easy attachment • Tamper proof GRAB BAG DRYBAGS (50L) FOR ONBOARD STORAGE • Provision of various size dry bags to store additional life saving appliances for easy deployment during incidents. The collar and horseshoe appliances should have the ability to be re-used following their deployment, once serviced and re-packed by a trained shore-based technician. Contract dates stated below are entered are solely for example and to enable completion of notice.

Classification

  • CPV39525300 — Life jackets

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
19968
Main Procurement Category
goods
Above Threshold
No
Status
planning

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Communication

Future Notice Date
31 Mar 2026, 23:59

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
planning

Suitability

Sme
Yes

Contract period

Starts
1 Apr 2026, 00:00
Ends
31 Jul 2026, 23:59

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
39525300
Description
Life jackets

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Planning and budget

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
engagement
Type
engagement
Description
This Preliminary Market Engagement Notice is being issued to identify suppliers that may be able to supply the goods, services or works required (PA2023 Section 16). It does not guarantee that any procurement activity will go ahead. The Home Office is seeking responses from suppliers who can provide the equipment above, to the minimum specifications identified. If you can provide the specified equipment then please email BFMaritimeProcurementTeam@homeoffice.gov.uk, with the following information: 1. Company name and location/address 2. Name of individual to be contacted in case of any further information being required (name, email address, telephone number) 3. The name of the appliances meeting the minimum specification listed above, with supporting evidence. 4. Item cost, product availability e.g. available to order immediately, lead in times, any restrictions on the number of products that can be ordered at one time and number 5. Confirmation of whether the product can or cannot be re-used, serviced and re-packed by Home Office. If no: who can carry out these tasks. If yes: is training required, are replacement consumables Original Equipment Manufacturer only or can other compatible products be used Response must be submitted by 15:00hrs 12 January 2026 to BFProcurementTeam@homeoffice.gov.uk. Please make sure that the subject heading states ‘Project_19968 Life Saving Appliances’
Due
12 Jan 2026, 23:59
Status
scheduled

Documents

Entry 1
Id
000863-2026
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Published
6 Jan 2026, 21:42
Format
text/html

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
Home Office
Id
GB-PPON-PWGC-6513-PQLZ

Identifier

Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PWGC-6513-PQLZ

Address

Street Address
2 Marsham Street
Locality
London
Postal Code
SW1P 4DF
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKI32

Contact

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicAuthorityCentralGovernment
Description
Public authority - central government

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · London · UKI32 · SW1P 4DF · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UK · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. 000863-2026Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·