Block CI-26 · CIESP

Hull Cleaning at Espoir Marine Terminal

In-water hull, propeller and survey work at Espoir Marine Terminal — an FPSO field off Jacqueville that never comes into port.

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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 Espoir Marine Terminal (CIESP), Block CI-26 — 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.

Espoir is an offshore oil field in Block CI-26, operated by CNR International with Petroci and Tullow as partners. A wellhead platform feeds the FPSO Espoir Ivoirien, which stores up to 1.16 million barrels and offloads crude to shuttle tankers, while gas goes ashore by subsea pipeline to generate electricity in Abidjan. The FPSO is owned by BW Offshore and has stayed on station under successive lease extensions.

Working conditions at Espoir

Espoir lies in open sea about 10 nautical miles south of Jacqueville and 32 nautical miles south-west of Abidjan, so everything here — the FPSO, the shuttle tankers and the support vessels — works in the full Atlantic swell with no shelter. The field has a wellhead platform feeding the FPSO, and all diving is done under the operator's field permit system, planned around production, offloading and the weather rather than a berth.

Where we work: FPSO Espoir Ivoirien on station · Shuttle tanker offloading area · Field support vessel moorings
Vessels we see here: FPSO Espoir Ivoirien · Shuttle tankers · Offshore support vessels

Hull Cleaning scopes at Espoir

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

Planning the window at Espoir

The combination of Atlantic swell and rain governs the calendar at Espoir Marine Terminal, 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. There is no anchor and no berth here: the FPSO is held on station by her own moorings, and shuttle tankers and support vessels work around her, so the dive plan is built around the field's production and offloading programme and the swell, under the operator's permit system.

Work is taken at the FPSO Espoir Ivoirien on station, shuttle tanker offloading area and field support vessel moorings, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. Teams mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ), 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 Espoir

Liquid and gas tonnage here spends long stretches at the terminal or waiting for a slot, so growth tends to be even and well established across the hull rather than patchy — heavier than the trading pattern suggests, and further along than a speed report alone would indicate.

An FPSO that has been on station for years has never had its hull cleaned by a dock, so growth builds in layers, and it matters most at the sea chests, water intakes and caissons, where fouling cuts the cooling and process water flow the plant depends on. Shuttle tankers and support vessels show the more familiar pattern of growth from long periods of slow steaming and waiting.

How we deliver it at Espoir

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Espoir. 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
Access at Espoir Marine Terminal is the terminal operator's decision as much as CNR International's, so both are in the approval chain from the start — a berth-side refusal discovered at the gangway costs the whole attendance. 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 Espoir
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ). Where a vessel is also calling at Baobab, 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.

Espoir Marine Terminal at a glance

UN/LOCODE: CIESP
Port type: Private Port
State: Block CI-26
Country: Côte d'Ivoire
Water body: Gulf of Guinea
Port authority: CNR International
Main cargoes: Crude oil, Associated gas piped ashore
Crew mobilisation: Abidjan (ABJ)
Services here: Hull Cleaning

Frequently asked — Espoir Marine Terminal

Does Cleanship provide hull cleaning at Espoir Marine Terminal?

Yes. We cover the full hull cleaning scope at Espoir Marine Terminal (CIESP), Block CI-26 — underwater hull cleaning, propeller polishing, thruster cleaning & polishing, in-water class survey and UWILD. Teams mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ).

What is underwater visibility like at Espoir?

Visibility at Espoir Marine Terminal is good — this is clear open-sea water well offshore — so the swell and the field's operations rather than visibility decide the window, and the combination of Atlantic swell and rain 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 Espoir?

CNR International issues the port-side approval at Espoir Marine Terminal, 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 Espoir?

FPSO Espoir Ivoirien, Shuttle tankers and Offshore support vessels — Espoir Marine Terminal is an FPSO field off Jacqueville that never comes into port, handling crude oil and associated gas piped ashore. 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 Espoir?

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 Espoir?

Yes. Baobab, Lion and Vridi 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 80 ports on the coverage list for this line.

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