Littoral · BJCOO

Hull Cleaning at Cotonou Port

In-water hull, propeller and survey work at Cotonou Port — the transit gateway to the Sahel, and the queue that comes with it.

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Tell us the vessel, the port and the window. Scoped reply, usually the same working day.

Cleanship Marine provides the full underwater scope at Cotonou Port (BJCOO), Littoral — hull cleaning, propeller super polishing, bow and stern thruster work, class-approved in-water survey and UWILD. Every scope is carried out with the vessel afloat and on hire, at the berth or at the anchorage.

Cotonou is Benin's only deep-water port and the transit gateway for the landlocked Sahel, working containers, cotton, vehicles and agricultural bulk. Congestion is its defining operational feature and the reason so much tonnage sits here long enough to need a hull clean.

Working conditions at Cotonou

Cotonou is a breakwater harbour that handles a large share of the transit trade into Niger and Burkina Faso, which means congestion and long anchorage waits are routine rather than exceptional. That wait is the in-water opportunity. The Atlantic swell reaches the anchorage and the rains from May to October are heavy; the basin itself stays workable.

Where we work: Container and general cargo berths · RoRo berth · Outer anchorage
Vessels we see here: Feeder container ships · RoRo and vehicle carriers · Handysize bulk carriers · General cargo ships

Hull Cleaning scopes at Cotonou

5 scopes, one team and one mobilisation. Most vessels calling here take more than one on the same attendance.

Planning the window at Cotonou

The Atlantic swell and the rains governs the calendar at Cotonou Port, with the heaviest rain from May to October and swell running year-round. The swell here is long-period Atlantic ground swell rather than wind-driven sea, so it reaches the anchorages on days that look calm from the bridge and it is the single biggest cause of a lost in-water window on this coast. Because the harbour is sheltered, work here normally runs alongside or at a protected anchorage and can proceed in parallel with cargo operations rather than competing with them for the berth window.

Work is taken at the container and general cargo berths, RoRo berth, outer anchorage, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. Teams mobilise via Cotonou (COO), so give us the ETA as early as you have it — the travel is the flexible part, the approvals and the working window are not.

What we typically find at Cotonou

Container tonnage on a fixed rotation shows the familiar pattern: light slime over most of the vertical sides, with the real accumulation in the flat bottom, the bilge keels and the niches where flow is slowest. Those are the areas that cost fuel and the ones a quick clean tends to skip.

Shelter is a mixed blessing for a hull. The same calm that makes the port easy to work in is still water, and still water grows fouling faster than an exposed berth does.

How we deliver it at Cotonou

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Cotonou. We come back with a defined scope, a crew size and a duration we will stand behind. Where the conditions here will not support what has been asked for, we say so at this stage rather than after mobilisation.
2
Permits and approvals
Port Autonome de Cotonou approves the work alongside the local harbour master, and at a state port that conversation is quicker but less formal — it is worth having in writing. Diving permission, terminal approval and any environmental clearance for in-water work are handled by us, not left with the agent to chase.
3
Mobilisation to Cotonou
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Cotonou (COO). Where a vessel is also calling at Lomé, one mobilisation is normally sized to cover both.
4
Safety setup and the dive
The vessel is secured for diving — main engine, shaft and thrusters immobilised, sea suctions confirmed shut, permit agreed with the master. Teams work under surface supervision with continuous diver communications and video throughout.
5
Report and handover
A completion report covering hull cleaning is issued with before-and-after imagery, coating and anode condition and anything found that you should know about. The findings are discussed with the vessel rather than emailed and forgotten.

Cotonou Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: BJCOO
Port type: State Port
State: Littoral
Country: Benin
Water body: Gulf of Guinea
Port authority: Port Autonome de Cotonou
Main cargoes: Containers, Cotton, Grain and agricultural bulk, General cargo, Vehicles and RoRo, Fuel
Crew mobilisation: Cotonou (COO)
Services here: Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning

Frequently asked — Cotonou Port

Does Cleanship provide hull cleaning at Cotonou Port?

Yes. We cover the full hull cleaning scope at Cotonou Port (BJCOO), Littoral — underwater hull cleaning, propeller polishing, thruster cleaning & polishing, in-water class survey and UWILD. Teams mobilise via Cotonou (COO).

What is underwater visibility like at Cotonou?

Visibility at Cotonou Port is moderate, and it drops further around active bulk handling and after heavy rain, and the Atlantic swell and the rains sets the outer limits of the calendar. How the tide and sea state shape the dive plan is set out in full in the working-conditions section on this page.

Who approves hull cleaning work at Cotonou?

Port Autonome de Cotonou issues the port-side approval at Cotonou Port, with terminal approval on top where the berth requires it. We arrange both, along with any environmental clearance for in-water cleaning, so it does not fall to the agent or the master.

Which vessels call at Cotonou?

Feeder container ships, RoRo and vehicle carriers, Handysize bulk carriers, General cargo ships — Cotonou Port is the transit gateway to the Sahel, and the queue that comes with it, handling containers, cotton, grain and agricultural bulk, general cargo, vehicles and RoRo, fuel. Wetted area, coating specification and how long the vessel has been sitting are what size a hull job, so the same berth can produce very different attendances.

Can this be done without taking the vessel off hire at Cotonou?

Yes — that is the point of it. Every scope listed here is carried out with the vessel afloat and working, at the berth, at the anchorage or on the passage out. Divers work with the vessel afloat at the berth or the anchorage, so there is no dry dock, no diversion and no off-hire.

Do you cover other ports near Cotonou?

Yes. Lomé, Tema and Kpémé all sit within the same operating range for hull cleaning, and a single mobilisation is often sized to cover more than one vessel on the same trip. We work 65 ports on the coverage list for this line.

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