The UK government has announced its plans to maintain search and rescue (SAR) helicopter coverage at the four Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) bases after the current contract expires in 2012. The existing MCA helicopter fleet, operated by CHC, is set to transfer to the Republic of Ireland in 2012, and the SAR-H project that was set to replace the MCA, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy SAR aircraft was cancelled in February this year due to irregularities in the bidding process that are still under investigation.
Philip Hammond, UK secretary of state for transport, announced to parliament on 11 July that to ensure the continuity of services from Portland, Lee on Solent, Shetland and the Isle of Lewis, the Department for Transport will run a competition to procure an interim service for a period of up to five years. He stated: “This contract will be similar to the arrangements that are currently in place for these bases and are working well. 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.” Commenting on the remainder of the UK SAR fleet, Hammond added: “The Royal Air Force and Royal Navy will continue to provide coverage from their search and rescue bases as at present, while I consider the options for the long-term provision of search and rescue helicopter capability.”
The transport secretary said the Government’s intentions for the longer term will be clarified later this year, and that the long-term procurement strategy will seek to ensure that the Ministry of Defence can withdraw its Sea Kings from service in 2016 as previously planned.
