Three Canadian shipyards and 11 international shipyards were invited to participate in the competitive bidding process. As the process continued, Flensburger Schiffbau–Gesellschaft (FSG) of Germany was short listed along with two other shipyards. Criteria for selection included the design and construction plan, recent experience building large ferries, customer satisfaction (references from other customers), delivery schedule, price and payment terms, financial stability and ability to provide guarantees.
“We recommend that BC Ferries be given authority to purchase standard vessels with a proven operating history in B.C. waters from the lowest cost provider that can accept 100 per cent of the design and construction risk” – Wright report (2001)
PROJECT INITIATION MARCH 2003 TO SEPTEMBER 2003
Project needs assessed
Build strategy & procurement strategy developed
REQUEST FOR PRE-QUALIFICATION BID OCTOBER 2003 TO JANUARY 2004
RFPQ Package developed:
Statement of Requirements
Technical Statement of Requirements
Drawings and Legal framework
Request for Prequalifcation bid issued November 2003
RFPQ bid submissions received from 9 shipyards in Canada, Korea, Finland, Japan, Germany and Norway
Of the 9 bid submissions, 5 assessed as compliant and evaluated further including Canadian bid
Short-list evaluation process and decision
internal experts
international naval architect
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PHASE FEBRUARY 2004 TO MAY 2004
RFP issued to 3 international shipyards (short-listed in February 2004)
Bidders' conference - week of March 8, 2004
EVALUATION PROCESS:
Independent technical analysis to assess lifecycle costs and technical risk
Comparison against the requirements in the RFP document
Class review of the proposals
A review of regulatory compliance on the designs by naval architects
Assessment of the adherence to the draft contract terms by legal counsel
Assessment of the proposed build strategy and schedule
Evaluation of crewing
Pricing comparison and analysis
Computer simulation and tank testing
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
3 rounds of negotiations - June through September
CONTRACT APPROVAL
BC Ferries Board of Directors - September 2004
DETAILED DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION STAGES
Detailed design expected to begin Fall 2004
Construction expected to begin September 2006
“BC Ferries has undertaken a competitive bid process, verified by independent technical experts, to determine capital cost estimates for the three vessels ... BC Ferries has structured the procurement process to be credible and create competition among high quality international bidders.” – Martin Crilly, BC Ferry Commissioner
