UK to launch interim SAR competition

July 11, 2011 Tony Osborne, SHEPARD GROUP

London - The British government is to launch a competition to find an interim search and rescue (SAR) helicopter provider following the collaspe of the £6 billion SAR-H programme.

Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond announced the competition in the House of Commons on Monday, 11 July, but set no date for when it would begin. He said he wanted to ensure that SAR helicopter services continued 'uninterrupted' until new long-term arrangements are in place.

The new interim contract could run for up to five years.

Currently, SAR helicopter operations are carried out by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force flying the Westland Sea King, and by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) using a mix of S-92s and AW139s, provided by CHC under an interim contract operating from Portland, Lee on Solent, Shetland and the Isle of Lewis. That contract is due to end in spring 2012.

Under previous plans, the helicopters involved in the interim contract would have been replaced by a new single-type fleet purchased by preferred SAR-H bidder Soteria – a consortium of CHC, Thales and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The service would have begun operations when the interim contract ended, and was due to be fully in place by 2016, when the Sea King is planned to be retired.

But the programme collasped in February and remains the subject of an enquiry by military police investigating the conduct of members of Soteria's bid team. The debacle has forced a major re-think on SAR provision.

Hammond said: 'The contract will be open to all interested bidders able to offer a service that fully meets our requirements and ensures the safety of the public and seafarers.

'These arrangements will ensure that SAR helicopter services are maintained while the range of options in relation to the long-term future provision of such services are being fully considered.

'The RAF and Royal Navy will continue to provide coverage from their SAR bases as at present, while I consider the options for the long-term provision of SAR helicopter capability.

'I will inform the House later in the year of the government’s intentions for the longer term. The procurement strategy we adopt for the longer term will seek to ensure that the Ministry of Defence is able to complete its previously announced intention to withdraw its Sea Kings from service in 2016.'