The Unicorn Preservation Society wishes to commission an Options Appraisal for the ongoing conservation of HMS Unicorn temporarily during Project Safe Haven and once in a permanent dry berth.

Overview 

The Unicorn Preservation Society (UPS) was formed in 1968 and is charged with the conservation and preservation of HMS Unicorn as a Museum and Heritage Asset. The Society is a registered charity in Scotland, registration number SC002771 and is constituted as a Company Limited by Guarantee, registration number SC046145.

Our mission is to deliver a world class museum experience, work continuously to safeguard the future of HMS Unicorn, and care for our collections while making them accessible to all.

Our vision is to inspire those who visit and work with us, offering lifelong learning and engagement opportunities for our local communities and beyond.

HMS Unicorn is one of the oldest ships still afloat anywhere in the world. Launched at Chatham in in 1824, HMS Unicorn was constructed as a 46-gun frigate. After being laid up “in ordinary”, HMS Unicorn arrived in Dundee in 1873 and was used as a training ship for the Royal Naval Reserves until the 1960s. HMS Unicorn has been berthed in Victoria Dock since 1963. The Ministry of Defence gave the ship to UPS in 1969, and HMS Unicorn has been open to the public since 1975. Previously used as a venue for parties and weddings, many people have fond memories of good times spent on board.

However, the past 200 years have taken their toll on HMS Unicorn, and the ship is in urgent need of a comprehensive programme of preservation works, and a new berth that will provide additional structural support for this historic vessel.

Project Safe Haven (PSH) describes UPS’ multi-phased Master Plan to permanently relocate HMS Unicorn into dry dock for sustainable long-term preservation, and the creation of a shoreside facility to optimise access for all, enabling UPS to appropriately care for the Ship and her collections, and offer a visitor experience commensurate with Unicorn’s recognised global significance. PSH is an ambitious project that will transform the visitor experience to HMS Unicorn, preserve the ship for the future, and enable us to grow our award-winning outreach, volunteering and engagement work.

UPS has secured funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and other co-funders to deliver a programme of Bicentenary celebrations for HMS Unicorn, which launches a major planned campaign for the future delivery of Project Safe Haven (PSH) and includes essential preliminary works to enable PSH.

Research and surveys to date have identified permanent drydocking of HMS Unicorn as the best solution for her conservation. UPS is now looking to appoint an external agency to provide an options appraisal for the conservation of HMS Unicorn once secure in a supporting cradle in a dry berth (estimated end 2028). The appraisal should consider how UPS might safely manage the drying-out of the vessel through active and passive means, mitigate risk of accelerating decay, suggest and working in partnership with UPS’ consultant engineers to sustain Unicorn’s structural integrity. The options appraisal should provide options within the confines of the overall project and available resources.

Note that whereas UPS is currently pursuing permanent drydocking for HMS Unicorn based on past research, UPS may consider other short-term and long-term options as new information comes to light through temporary drydocking and further research.

Methodology 

UPS is looking to appoint an external agency to:

• Define conservation requirements for HMS Unicorn once in a dry berth and supporting cradle.
• Review the methods by which Unicorn’s drying-out phase can be safely managed within available resources to reduce risk of degradation and structural failure and provide for long-term stability.
• Identify and design a short-term monitoring and research plan for a temporary drying phase to gather data, assuming that the dock would then be reflooded until the long-term drying out process is fully designed and ready to be implemented.
• Consult with stakeholders and organisations facing similar challenges.
• Work in partnership with UPS’ consulting engineers.
• Operate within the Conservation Philosophy of UPS, aligned with NHS UK’s “Preservation” gateway for historic ships.

 

Outputs/Deliverables 

• A consultation process recording expert feedback and input from outwith UPS, to feed into;
• Identification of various options for dry-berth conservation of HMS Unicorn, including short-term (between the different phases of Project Safe Haven) and long-term, as part of;
• A written Options Appraisal scored against relevant criteria to be agreed in partnership with UPS and a report of conclusions and recommendations for next steps.

Contract management

Costs should be presented excluding VAT, with expenses stated separately.
The works must be completed by March 2025. Work will be managed on a day-to-day basis for UPS by PSH Project Officer Helene Corrieu, helene@hmsunicorn.org.uk, who will be your primary contact throughout.

Payment schedule

Payment will be scheduled by agreement between both parties. Payment will be made within 28 days of receipt of a valid VAT invoice. Invoices must be received by UPS no more than three days after the date on the invoice.

Award criteria 

A proposal for undertaking the work should include: 

1. a detailed methodology for undertaking the assessment
2. an outline of the internal responsibilities and liaisons
3. details of staff allocated to the project, together with experience of the contractor and staff members in carrying out similar projects. The project manager / lead contact should be identified
4. the allocation of days between members of the team
5. the daily charging rate of individual staff involved 
6. a timetable, in the form of a Gantt chart or Excel spreadsheet for example, for carrying out the project 
7. an overall cost for the work 

Proposals submitted will be assessed by UPS against the following questions:

1. To what extent does the proposal demonstrate an understanding of the issues (including social values) related to this brief? (20%)
2. To what extent are the methodology and methods appropriate to the requirements set out in this brief? (20%)
3. What degree of experience does the bidder demonstrate in order to successfully complete the work? (20%)
4. How well has the bidder structured a team in order to successfully manage the contract and deliver the required work to the budget and timetable required? (10%)
5. Cost (30%)

Procurement Schedule 

The procurement timetable will be: 

Questions may be submitted to UPS by email	Up to 13 October 2024
Proposals to be received by UPS	9am on 21 October 2024
UPS to review proposals / Clarification meetings (online or in person), if required	w/c 21 October 2024
UPS to notify bidders of our procurement decision	w/c 28 October 2024
Start of Contract	As soon as possible after appointment
Draft Options Appraisal	Date TBC with successful consultant
Final Options Appraisal report	By March 2025 – Date TBC with successful consultant

Proposals should be sent to PSH Project Officer Helene Corrieu, by email helene@hmsunicorn.org.uk, and must be received by the deadline as shown in the table above.

Any questions/queries regarding the brief the brief should be sent to PSH Project Officer via email, to be received no later than 13/10/2024. UPS aims to respond to any queries within two working days of receipt.

You can download this as a PDF file at this link.