On Tuesday 30th May the Government approved a recommendation from Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Minister of State Jack Chambers to offer the next Irish Coast Guard search-and-rescue aviation contract to Bristow Ireland Ltd. The contract will provide for the day and night-time operation of four helicopter bases in Sligo, Shannon, Waterford and Dublin. In addition to the helicopter service, the new Coast Guard aviation service will, for the first time, also include a fixed-wing aircraft.
Subject to contract, the new IRCG aviation service contract will cost approximately €670 million (excluding VAT) and will run for 10 years in the case of the helicopter service and five years in the case of the fixed-wing element of the service, with options to extend both services out to 13 years. The contract makes provision for the Air Corps to provide the fixed-wing element of the service after five years.
The preferred bidder was selected following a procurement project undertaken by the Department of Transport that included an initial market engagement process, a prequalifying process, an initial Request for Tender, a negotiation process, and a final evaluation of a Best and Final Offer Tender from the shortlisted bidders. Over the coming weeks, the Department of Transport will be working with the preferred bidder to finalise contracts.
Bristow primarily provides aviation services to a broad base of offshore energy companies and government entities. The Company’s aviation services include personnel transportation, SAR, medevac, fixed-wing transportation, unmanned systems and ad-hoc helicopter services. Bristow currently has customers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Dutch Caribbean, the Falkland Islands, Guyana, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Spain, Suriname, Trinidad, the UK and the US. Bristow’s 226 aircraft, mainly helicopters, include 68 x S-92, 53 x AW139, 21 x AW189 and 20 x S-76. 53% of revenue is from Europe, 31% Americas, 65% from offshore energy and 25% from Governments.
Staff at the four Coast Guard helicopter bases in Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo are seeking assurances from the Department of Transport that employment will be transferred when the Bristow group takes over in 18 months’ time. More than 140 people have been employed by CHC Ireland at the four bases over the past 20 years of the current €60m-a-year SAR contract. Each of the four Irish Coast Guard bases contracted to CHC Ireland is staffed by about 35 people, including up to nine pilots, winch crew and engineers, along with staff responsible for rosters, flight operations and engineering supervision.
Senator Gerard Craughwell, who has welcomed the awarding of the contract to Bristow, has called on the company to state it will “start considering a transfer of employment”. Existing staff with CHC Ireland are “brave, solid heroes who put their lives on the line daily to save lives”, he said, so they deserved assurances. Craughwell said that Bristow had a “moral imperative” to ensure employment is transferred, given the “highly specialised skills and knowledge” involved in running the four SAR bases.
The Department of Transport said “it is expected that as part of their staffing strategy, the new contractor will undertake a consultation and engagement process with the employees of the current contractor, and the recognised trade unions”. Bristow Ireland said it “looks forward to integrating our significant global experience and capabilities into this critical public service”.
