Louie the Fly

Here is another tender which appeared in "The Australian" on Saturday 5/4/03.
Good luck!

INVITATION TO REGISTER INTEREST
FOR THE PROVISION OF
CIVIL MARITIME SURVEILLANCE AND RESPONSE SERVICES
REFERENCE NUMBER G14

Customs provides a civil maritime surveillance and response service to a diverse range of government agencies. Coastwatch, a division of Customs, coordinates this service using a combination of contractors and government service providers.
Coastwatch operates in Australia's maritime zones, remote areas such as Australia's offshore territories and the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) surrounding these areas, and the Southern Ocean.
The Civil Maritime Surveillance 2004 (CMS04) project has been established to ensure that support for Coastwatch strategic and operational goals can be maintained beyond the term of the current commercial surveillance contracts. As part of this project, Coastwatch seeks contractors interested in contributing to the delivery of civil maritime surveillance and response services that will involve the provision of platforms, sensors and associated ancillaries. An Invitation to Register Interest (ITRI) in the project is offered to suitably qualified organisations.
A non-compulsory industry brief on the project will be held at 1030-1230 hours on 30 April 2003 in the Ballroom at the National Convention Centre, 31 Constitution Avenue, Canberra, ACT. Please advise planned attendance numbers by e-mail to .
Background information and a downloadable copy of the ITRI document are available from the tenders, contracts area of the Customs web site at http://www.customs.gov.au. A consolidated list of registered organisations will be published on the web site.
Queries can be directed to the Contact Officer, Mr Mark Czehowsky on (02) 6275 6959;
or e-mail .
Conditions relating to registering interest are in the ITRI document.

Torres

I wonder if Bongo Vans with a range of 650 nm at near full payload will be a part of the new contract?

And, will the surveillance radar make/model change again, the day after the contract is signed?

d_concord

Another source of uncertianty for NJS and its' owners.

Right at this time I'm glad I'm not in the NJS camp!!

hoss

So who is going for the contract apart from NJS?

I can't see ACS going for the Bongos, so a replacement platform will have to be found. Whats the likelihood (assuming NJS are successful) of a C-208 as its replacement for 'Littoral Surveillance'?

The Shrike was a real winner by comparison to the Bongo for Surveillance tasks.

Are ACS and NJS still happy with the F-406 and the Dash?

I would be very interested if anyone knows of any other aircraft types being considered. I reckon NJS have an 85% chance of getting it again,any thoughts?

Safe flying, hoss

Torres

I would think NJS DHC8-200 would be a fair bet due to the brass Government has invested. And they seem to be an efficient electronic/visual platform.

The F-406? Dunno? There has to be a better and more cost effective platform.

C208/C208B's to replace the Bongos? Probably - and they would do the task admirably. Last time there was the "single engine thing" which seems to have dissipated now. The visual task is usually limited to 50 nm off shore and requirements last time called for 650 nm range with IFR reserves and around 4 pob plus 250 kg - interesting project for a Bongo! A Van would crap that in - with a lot more comfort!

I would think your tip may be a fair bet, hoss.

d_concord

I'm not sure that I think it's a fair bet

NJS lost the Target towing contract on the first renewal, the Santos contract as well however the company that won it didn't perform in the end and so it reverted.

They were one of the last ones standing in the Antarctic Transport System and didn't win that either.

NJS haven't kicked that many goals in recent times and from other posts on the forum it would appear the Airlink operations would also have to be in question in the medium term.

This contract will have quite a few big players in it and I woudn't think NJS have any better chance than a number of players some here in Australia and some from overseas that may form consortiums with some of the other medium size companies from Australia.

hoss

d_concord,

Any hints as to who else is going for the contract?

What do you guys/gals think about a 'split contract', ie. NJS run the electronic(radar) contract and another company/s look after the visual contract. Can this work? I realise things wont be quite as neat as it stands,but it will keep everyone on their toes and competitive.

What d'ya reckon, hoss

hws__ils

Everyone keeps on talking about the current Coastwatch contract and how it relates to NJS. NJS do not run the Coastwatch contract it is managed by Surveillance Australia, under National Air Support, a sister company to NJS which has totally different management. Also I think that now NJS and NAS are both owned by Cobham it will give them staying power in the market...in some form or another.

hoss

Yep, I stand corrected.

I should have known better,very slack of me.

Got the PM AW will call soon.

Safe flying, hoss