The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) commenced a multi-staged procurement process for the provision of a Marine National Facility Future Research Vessel (FRV) in October 2010. The procurement is for a contractor to design, build, equip with fitted systems, certify and deliver the FRV. This project is an initiative of the Australian Government being conducted as part of the Super Science Initiative and financed from the Education Investment Fund.
A team of AGS lawyers provided CSIRO with probity and legal services throughout the procurement process. The AGS team – which included Chief Counsel Commercial John Scala, Cathy Reid, Jane Supit and Nicola Walsh – drafted the tender documentation, advised on the procurement strategy, assisted with negotiations and drafted the resulting contract documentation.
The contract between CSIRO and Teekay Holdings Australia Pty Ltd was executed on 17 January 2011. The ship, to be named RV Investigator, is currently in the first stages of the design, and is scheduled to begin operations by mid-2013. The vessel is being designed by RALion (Robert Allan Ltd and Alion Science and Technology) from USA and Canada and is to be built by Sembawang Shipyard Pte Ltd at Singapore.
This is an extract from the 2010–11 AGS annual report