AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science awarded SUNBEAM FISHING LIMITED a contract for pelagic trawler vessel services supporting the IESNS acoustic-trawl survey.
Published outcomeThe published contract record is active, was signed on 15 October 2026, and runs from 19 October 2026 to 18 October 2027, with stated renewal options.
Market significanceThis is a £1.215 million net research-vessel-services contract supporting international pelagic fish, oceanography and plankton survey activity.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
SUNBEAM FISHING LIMITED
99% confidenceAward 2 · Lots 1 · £1,215,000 net; £1,458,000 gross contract value GBP · Active contract
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Contract 2 names Sunbeam Fishing Limited as supplier through award 2, covers related lot 1, and states GBP 1,215,000 amount and GBP 1,458,000 amountGross. Verified supplier identity is SUNBEAM FISHING LIMITED (company number SC177904).
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Procurement procedure
99% confidenceOpen procedure
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Tender procurementMethodDetails is "Open procedure".
Tender notice published
98% confidence23 July 2026
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Release history lists Tender notice on Find a Tender dated 2026-07-23.
Award notice published
98% confidence4 September 2026
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Release history lists Contract award notice on Find a Tender dated 2026-09-04.
Contract signed
99% confidence15 October 2026
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Contract 2 records dateSigned as 2026-10-15.
Contract start
99% confidence19 October 2026
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Contract 2 period startDate is 2026-10-19.
Contract details notice published
99% confidence16 October 2026
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Contract document and release history give 2026-10-16.
Published contract status
99% confidenceActive
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Contract 2 status is "active".
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value (net)
99% confidence£1,215,000
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Contract 2 value.amount is 1215000 GBP.
Contract value (gross)
99% confidence£1,458,000
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Contract 2 value.amountGross is 1458000 GBP.
Value allocation
97% confidenceContract-level value; the published record does not provide a separate lot value.
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Contract 2 provides a contract value and is related to lot 1; lot 1 has no value.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Core term
99% confidence19 October 2026 to 18 October 2027
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Contract 2 period gives these start and end dates.
Maximum possible end date
99% confidence18 October 2029
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Contract 2 period.maxExtentDate is 2029-10-18 and renewal description is "2 x 12 months".
Survey operational window stated in requirement
96% confidence20 April 2027 to 31 May 2027; approximately 13 consecutive days
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Tender description specifies this survey period and vessel availability requirement.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Service
99% confidenceProvision of a suitably equipped pelagic trawler for an acoustic-trawl survey
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Tender title and description specify provision of a pelagic trawler for the IESNS survey.
Classification
99% confidenceCPV 63726800 — Research vessel services
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Award item additional classification lists CPV 63726800.
Scientific activity
97% confidenceAcoustic transects, directed midwater trawling, biological sampling, CTD profiles and plankton sampling
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Tender description sets out the survey objectives and methods.
Geographic coverage
96% confidenceSurvey area between 62°–69° North and 13° West–6° East; embarkation and disembarkation in a Scottish mainland port
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Tender description states the operating area and port requirement.
Lot structure
99% confidenceOne published lot (lot 1); no lot title or description published
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Tender lists lot 1 only, with no title or description.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceOpen procedure
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Tender procurementMethodDetails is "Open procedure".
GPA coverage
98% confidenceCovered by GPA
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Tender coveredBy includes GPA.
Competition information
99% confidenceNumber of tenders, bidder identities, evaluation scores and award rationale are unknown.
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Information not supplied in the published notice data.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Contract status
99% confidenceActive
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Contract 2 status is active.
Renewal provision
99% confidence2 x 12 months
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Contract 2 hasRenewal is true and renewal description states "2 x 12 months".
Performance metrics
99% confidenceNo agreed metrics; buyer states that the charter service is well defined with clear deliverables and KPIs would not be appropriate.
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Contract 2 noAgreedMetricsRationale contains this statement.
Buyer staffing stated in requirement
96% confidenceCefas will provide a minimum of six scientists to oversee survey operations.
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Tender description states this requirement.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Charter requirement
96% confidenceThe vessel must support continuous 24-hour acoustic transects and ad hoc midwater trawling, alongside hydrographic and plankton collection.
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Tender description defines the operating model and additional data-collection objectives.
Mobilisation requirement
96% confidenceA 13-consecutive-day vessel availability period is required; calibration and transit are excluded from those 13 days.
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Tender description states the availability requirement and exclusions.
International research context
95% confidenceThe IESNS survey is described as a collaboration involving Icelandic, Faroe, Norwegian, EU and UK research institutes.
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Tender description states this collaboration context.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Duplicate award records
95% confidenceThe supplied data contains awards 1 and 2 for the same procurement and supplier, while the contract explicitly links to award 2. This analysis reports the signed contract through award 2 and does not treat the records as separate supplier wins.
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Awards list IDs 1 and 2; contract 2 has awardID 2; both records reference lot 1 and the same supplier.
Lot detail limitation
99% confidenceLot 1 has no published title, description or separate value.
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Lot record contains null title, description and value.
Competition and evaluation limitation
99% confidenceInformation on bids, scores, evaluation rationale and pricing breakdown is not supplied in the published notice data.
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Information not supplied in the published notice.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The supplied data contains two award records for the same procurement and supplier; the contract links explicitly to award 2, while award 1 is not separately reconciled in the published data.
- No separate lot value, lot title or lot description is published for lot 1.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: tender count, bidder identities, evaluation scores, award rationale, pricing breakdown and submission deadline.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
SUNBEAM FISHING LIMITEDCefasIESNS surveypelagic trawlerresearch vessel servicesacoustic-trawl surveyUK public procurement
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the Cefas IESNS pelagic trawler contract?
SUNBEAM FISHING LIMITED, verified as company number SC177904.
What is the published contract value?
£1,215,000 net and £1,458,000 gross.
When does the contract run?
The core term runs from 19 October 2026 to 18 October 2027, with two stated 12-month renewal options.
ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.