Consultancy Review of Towage Needs and Provision Models

The object of this review is to carry out a full assessment of current and future towage needs at the Port, evaluating all towage provision models matching these requirements, and presenting a conclusion on the most suitable model to fulfil the Ports requirements.

The consultant is expected to respect the sensitive nature of the review, and would be expected to follow stages similar to those outlined, providing regular progress updates, as well as a report at the end of each stage and agreed plan for the next stage which is to be approved by Port of Dover:

Discovery Stage: Current operations, requirements and future needs, including future commercial direction.

Options Stage: Proposal of towage provision models suitable to meeting the needs of the Port, including all in-source, out-source and creative options. To present options and agree approach to Evaluation Stage.

Evaluation and Presentation Stage: Evaluate and comparison of all suitable models, concluding which of those is most suitable, including presentation of market benchmarking and direction taken by other similar Ports.

The review should consider and asses, but not limited to, the following factors for each of the proposed models:

Risks associated with each model, including but not limited to: Commercial, Reputational, Operational, Financial.

Benefits associated with each model.

Whole life comparison of each model.

Investment/financial appraisal of each model/option. Including (but not limited to) NPV, IRR and payback metrics - where applicable. Taking into consideration the complete relevant whole life cost of each option for appropriate comparison.

Working time assessment outlining suitable crewing models and shift patterns to optimise hours of rest, resilience and fulfil operational efficiency.

Shoreside vessel management and support.

Commercial and revenue generating opportunities. Including tariff benchmarking of other Port's and towage providers.

Operational resilience and redundancy.

Safety benefits and challenges.

Challenges to the business in implementing each towage model.

Potential transition and implementation strategy for each model.

Alignment to the Ports Corporate Goals and Values.

Assessment of most suitable vessel size and bollard pull (may be determined by simulation work).

Assessment of most appropriate vessel propulsion system or fuel to align with the Ports Sustainability targets and IMO 2050, including environmental and infrastructure requirement and impact assessment of each.