Ship management contract finally awarded

DFFE concludes protracted tender for SA Agulhas II and Algoa

SOUTH AFRICA: The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has announced African Marine Solutions Group (AMSOL) as the successful bidder to manage the polar supply and research vessel SA Agulhas II and the environmental research vessel Algoa, bringing to a close a procurement process that has stretched over two and a half years and survived three cancellations and a legal challenge.

The R1,215,377,156 contract covers the crewing and manning, technical and commercial management of the two vessels for a period of 60 months. AMSOL, which has continued to operate the fleet under a series of interim extensions throughout the drawn-out tendering exercise, was the only bidder to have participated in all three rounds of bidding.

A long road

The DFFE first advertised the contract in October 2023, attracting submissions from only the incumbent, AMSOL, and SAMSA Maritime Special Projects (MSP). That process was cancelled in February 2024.

A reissued version followed in April 2024, this time drawing bids from four companies: AMSOL, MSP, Grindrod Logistics Africa and C Steinweg Marine. The department cancelled that bid too, in October 2024, citing that no service provider had complied with all the mandatory requirements.

Director-General Nomfundo Tshabalala later described the submissions as “non-responsive”, although she was unable to elaborate when questioned by journalists on board the icebreaker earlier in the year.

A third tender, published in April 2025, sought to address the shortcomings of previous rounds. The scope of work was expanded to include the terms “crewing and manning” and “technical and commercial management”, the evaluation criteria were reworked and the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) Standard Shipmanagement Agreement was introduced as the contractual framework. Bidders were given 41 days to respond, almost double the window provided the previous year.

Three submissions were received by the May 2025 deadline. In a notable shift, SAMSA MSP, which had been widely expected to extend its state-owned vessel management mandate to include the DFFE’s research and polar fleet, did not submit a bid. AMSOL, Grindrod Logistics Africa and C Steinweg Marine were the only companies to contest the third round.

Legal challenge

Shortly after the tender closed, the industry was rattled by news of an urgent interdict filed against the DFFE by J*S Maritime Partners, a prospective bidder that had attended the compulsory briefing in April 2025 but opted not to submit a bid. Managing Partner Captain Stefan Bülow contended that bidders had not been provided with sufficient information to compile genuinely competitive submissions.

In correspondence with the then Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, Bülow described the tender as “flawed”, citing unanswered questions around insurance claim history, insured vessel value, maintenance schedules and crew costs. He also took aim at an evaluation criterion that awarded maximum points to bidders occupying “fit-for-purpose” premises for eight years or longer, arguing that this effectively barred new entrants from the market.

The legal challenge added a further layer of uncertainty to a process already viewed with some unease given the history of state-owned vessel management in South Africa. The controversial 2011 award of the then Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries patrol fleet contract to the Sekunjalo Consortium, which was later withdrawn following litigation, continues to cast a long shadow over the sector.

What the award means

The announcement on 17 April brings long-awaited certainty to the management of two of the country’s most strategically important research vessels. The SA Agulhas II undertakes the annual resupply of the South African National Antarctic Programme bases on Antarctica, Marion Island and Gough Island, as well as supporting a wide range of scientific research expeditions.

The Algoa, described by the DFFE at last year’s bidders’ briefing as “old, unreliable and vulnerable”, continues to serve as an environmental research vessel while plans to replace her are developed.

With the replacement of the 52-year-old Algoa flagged as a likely project during the term of the contract, the successful bidder will be expected to play a role in the project management of any new build.

PHOTO: © Maritime Review Africa

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