Lochmaddy and Tarbert harbours in the Western Isles will go through assessments to see what infrastructure work is required for new services in 2018.
Two new ferries are currently being created to provide a fully flexible year-round service for the Uig Triangle and Arran routes.
The vessels will have the capacity to use existing berths without significant redevelopment and CMAL (Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited) is currently investigating what infrastructure modifications may be required at the five ports and harbours which the ferries will initially service.
A contract notice has now been placed on the Public Contracts Scotland website.
A spokeswoman for CMAL said: “The current contract notice is to identify a consultant engineer supplier to conduct assessment of the harbours at Lochmaddy and Tarbert and develop the options for potential infrastructure work.
“As part of the tender process, CMAL has requested prices to deliver contract requirements.”
The ferries are being built by Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd in Port Glasgow. They will be 328ft dual fuel ferries, which will operate on liquefied natural gas and marine diesel and carry 127 cars or 16 HGVs or a combination of both and up to 1,000 passengers.
A final decision on routes will be subject to review by CalMac Ferries Ltd, CMAL and Transport Scotland. The first ferry is expected to enter service in early 2018, with the second following a few months later.
The preferred bidder for the assessment works will have to prepare a statement of the range of services which must be completed in advance of the vessel arriving and in order to enable it to berth. This recognises the fact that delivery of all the works may not be feasible prior to the introduction of the new vessel two years hence.
Environmental appraisals and surveys will also be carried out.
Consideration will be given to mooring arrangements, pier structures, dredging, linkspans, vehicle marshalling, access roads and footpaths amongst other things.
The deadline for applications from bidders is December 2.
