The Merchant Navy tenders the Peninsula-Canaries shipping line for 6.08 million

The Directorate General of the Merchant Marine has tendered the management of services for the public interest maritime line Peninsula-Canaries, with an estimated value of 6,084,000 euros and a duration of twelve months. The announcement is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) no. 244, dated October 2, 2026, section V-A, pages 51724 to 51726, with the official reference BOE-B-2026-31834. Interested shipping companies have until 10:00 AM on October 26, 2026, to submit their bids.

The contracting authority is the Directorate General of the Merchant Marine, under the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, located at calle Ruiz de Alarcón number 1, 28014 Madrid, with NIF S2829008H. The case file is 202617320164 and the contract is processed via an open procedure, without admission of variants, with CPV code 60640000 (Maritime transport) and the main place of performance in the Canary Islands (NUTS code ES70).

This is not the first time this service has been called for: in June 2013, the same directorate general already tendered the Peninsula-Canaries line under case file 58/2013, announcement BOE-B-2013-24838. The announcement now published refers as a previous publication to the submission to the Official Journal of the European Union on September 25, 2026, with identifier 2026-000576100, and was signed in Madrid on September 25, 2026, by the director general, Ana Núñez Velasco.

A contract of 6.08 million and twelve months

• Estimated value: 6,084,000.00 euros.
• Contract duration: 12 months.
• CPV Code: 60640000 (Maritime transport).
• Main place of performance: ES70 (Canary Islands).
• Type of contracting authority: state authority; main activity, general public services.
• Variants will not be accepted.

The specifications are freely, directly, completely, and gratuitamente accessible through the Public Sector Procurement Platform, and the buyer profile is available on the State’s electronic procurement portal.

Deadlines, opening of bids, and appeal process

• Deadline for receipt of bids: until 10:00 AM on October 26, 2026.
• Opening of the economic offer envelope: November 3, 2026, at 11:00, at the headquarters of the Directorate General of the Merchant Marine (procurement platform), calle Ruiz de Alarcón 1, 28014 Madrid.
• Nature of the opening: private.
• Obligation to maintain the bid: 3 months.
• Language of the bids: Spanish; electronic submission, electronic invoicing, and electronic payment are permitted.
• Special appeal in procurement matters before the Central Administrative Tribunal for Contractual Appeals, within a maximum period of 15 business days; alternatively, a contentious-administrative appeal within a period of 2 months.

Regarding the conditions for participation, legal capacity to act is required, as well as not being subject to any prohibition from contracting and being up to date with Social Security and tax obligations. Economic solvency is accredited through the annual turnover figure, and technical solvency through machinery, materials, and technical equipment for the execution of the contract.

Award criteria with environmental weighting

• Economic offer: 40%.
• Improvement over the maximum required tariffs: 25%.
• Control of vessel NOx emissions per passenger: 8%.
• Control of vessel NOx emissions: 8%.
• Vessel energy efficiency: 8%.
• Improvement in transport capacity: 6%.
• Improvement in service quality: 5%.

The specifications also incorporate environmental and social execution conditions, which reinforces the sustainability component of the contract along with the weight given to tariff improvements, which directly affect the price paid by the user.

The tender is of interest to shipping companies operating in the archipelago and, above all, to Canary Island residents, as the Peninsula-Canaries public interest maritime line is the declared public service connection between the islands and the peninsula. The contract sets the maximum tariffs and the quality and capacity conditions of the service for twelve months, so its award will determine the offer of seats and roll-on/roll-off cargo available on that route.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 244, October 2, 2026, section V-A (Announcements. Public Sector Procurement), page 51724 (official reference: BOE-B-2026-31834).