CHC Ireland has been ordered to cover most of Bristow Ireland’s legal costs in their dispute over a short-lived suspension of Bristow’s award of the €800 million Irish Coast Guard search-and-rescue (SAR) tender.
Bristow’s Irish subsidiary was announced as the preferred bidder for the next Irish Coast Guard SAR contract in May, and signed a contract with the Irish Department of Transport on Aug. 22, 2023, to provide the service. The operator was chosen over the service’s existing provider, CHC Ireland, for the 10-year contract, which will see day- and night-time operation from four dedicated bases, with service set to begin in 2025.
Bristow will introduce a fleet of six SAR-configured Leonardo AW189 helicopters for the role — replacing CHC’s Sikorsky S-92s — and will also provide two specialized King Air fixed-wing aircraft.
The contract has options to extend for a further three years.
CHC filed a legal challenge questioning the validity of the tender award in June, leading to an automatic suspension of the process. While that case is ongoing, the suspension was lifted by the High Court in July after an application by Eamon Ryan, the Irish Minister for Transport.
That ruling was then upheld by the Court of Appeal.
“If the suspension is not lifted, it is clear that Bristow will not be able to fill the gap in the [SAR] service from 30 June, 2025,” said Ms Justice Caroline Costello, on behalf of the Court of Appeal, in a written decision delivered on Oct. 2, 2023.
She referenced evidence that “there are likely to be considerable difficulties” in procuring slots to manufacture the AW189s at short notice, and the inability of Bristow to guarantee that the pricing quoted in its tender will hold for more than a year beyond its submission.
“There are many significant and weighty additional factors which heightened the risk to the public interest in the circumstances of this case,” Ms Justice Costello continued.
“It is a vital life-saving service. It is imperative that there be no gap or intermission in the provision of that service. It is clearly a service which requires immense resources and preparation by any party who wishes to replace an incumbent service provider. These factors all weigh heavily in favour of lifting the suspension in the circumstances of this case.”
In a High Court ruling delivered Oct. 24, Mr Justice Michael Twomey awarded Bristow its costs against CHC in the case objecting to the suspension of the contract award.
