Maritime Heritage Consultant

Research has identified permanent drydocking as the best conservation solution for 200 years old HMS Unicorn, and we are now looking for a maritime heritage consultant to carry out an Options Appraisal on the conservation of HMS Unicorn once secure in a supporting cradle in a dry berth. The appraisal should consider how the Unicorn Preservation Society might safely manage the drying-out of the vessel through active and passive means and mitigate risk of accelerating decay.

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 longterm 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

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

Read the full appraisal brief here: https://rina.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240923_-UPS-Drying-Out-Options-Appraisal-Brief-1.pdf

The deadline for tender submission is 9am on 21st October 2024, and the Final report must be completed by March 2025.