CHC Irish Coast Guard challenge admitted to court

An automatic suspension of the awarding of the contract has now come into effect in response to the challenge. The government will reportedly seek an early date for the hearing of an application from its side to lift the suspension as soon as possible, in light of the contract’s importance.

The government highlighted the urgency of a decision given the required two-year transition period between the two contractors, which was due to begin next Saturday.

CHC announced its intention to challenge the appointment on 15 June – submitting a 40-page document to the Commercial Court subdivision of the Irish High Court, in which the company said it had identified ‘flaws in the conduct of the competition’.

The Irish Department of Transport had previously announced Bristow Ireland as its preferred bidder in late May, stating that it would work to finalize the contract in the subsequent weeks. CHC was the previous operator of the Irish Coast Guard’s SAR operations, under a 10-year contract awarded in 2012.