Danish Defence and Logistics Organization (DALO) is putting the acquisition of a Framework Agreement for Chartering of Vessels up for tender.
DALO is in charge of entering a framework agreement that meets the Danish Defence's requirements for additional access to international strategic sealift. The Danish Defence has had its own ARK cooperation that possesses access to strategic sealift since 2003. Since 2006 the Danish Defence has been part of the Danish-German ARK project. The access to Strategic Sealift involves RORO's (Roll On, Roll Off) with special ARK features at time charter.
The Ark cooperation involves close coordination with Movement Coordination Centre Eindhoven (MCCE) and 27 others nations who have ratified the cooperation.
The objective of this framework agreement is to improve the ARK projects access to additional sea lift capacities including swift access to the civilian shipping market for chartering of primarily additional RORO vessels and occasionally other specific vessels and sea based platforms.
The framework agreement is intended to improve the access vessels for transportation of varying cargo in terms of items, size and shapes. This includes but is not limited to transportation for both national and international military purposes and support of the need for transportation of military equipment and other commodities for sustainment or in support of own and allied military operations, missions, training exercises, humanitarian disaster relief situations, routine transports and others tasks such as the use of sea based platforms for various tasks.
The chartering method will primarily be based on "Time Charter" or "Voyage Charter". Secondary chartering methods will be "Trip Time Charter", "Contract of Affreightment" and "Bareboat Charter".
The Danish Defence wants to establish a cooperation of ship brokers (contractors) with experience within the civilian RORO market including experience with chartering of RORO vessels. Hence, the contractor must be able to source and provide sealift options on request, as well as arrangement of charter agreements primarily within the RORO segment supplemented with the contractors staff's ability to support chartering of other types of vessels (e.g. ROPAX (Roll on/Roll of Passenger), Ferry, MPV (Multi Purpose Vessel), PCTC (Pure Car and Truck Carrier), CONT (Container Ship), Heavy lift, Supply vessel and tankers)).
The typical duration of Time Charters varies between 1 week and 7 months. This however, shall not exclude the possibility to arrange shorter or longer charter periods and for some occasions more vessels will be chartered for the same event.
The Danish Defence expect that the geographical area of operating will be within the European continent-area but can also be extended to world wide operations.
Features which will be made mandatory through the tendering process:
— The Contractor shall be able to act as a ship broker providing RORO vessels at Time Charter and Voyage Charter.
— The Contractor shall be accessible 24/7/365 (via switch-board).
— The Contractor shall be able to provide vessels flagged in NATO and EU countries.
— The Contractor shall have at least two employees with operational responsibility capable of conducting charter agreements.
— The Contractor shall have an office in NATO and/or EU countries.
— The Contractors key workers of the Framework Agreement shall be able to obtain security clearance within 7 months after commencement of the framework agreement.
Important features for the chartering contractor:
— Regularly issue of RORO reports describing the shipping market for RORO vessels. The reports preferably contain information regarding the actual number of RORO's and other vessels types (e.g. ROPAX or MPP), the definition of the vessel type, the composition by age and the size of the vessels, the charter rates, bunker prices and an assessment of the future development within these categories including scrapping of vessels and new buildings entering the market. The reports also preferably contain regular updates on fixtures of RORO's and other vessel types, sales and scrapping of vessels primarily within the RORO segment.
— Experience with maritime transport of military cargo including sailing in risk areas (war areas).
The framework agreement will have a duration of 3 years and there will be 4 options with renewal of 1 year.
DALO will enter into a parallel framework agreement with up to 5 (five) Tenderers. After DALO has awarded the tender to up to 5 Tenderers, DALO will initiate mini-competitions as the award model during the entire duration of the framework agreement.