Boa Vista · CVSAR

Hull Cleaning at Sal Rei Port

In-water hull, propeller and survey work at Sal Rei Port — the supply port of Boa Vista on a reef-lined coast.

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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 Sal Rei Port (CVSAR), Boa Vista — 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.

Sal Rei is the port of Boa Vista, the third-largest island in Cape Verde and one of its fastest-growing tourism destinations. The port's traffic is building materials, containers and supplies for the island's resorts, plus the inter-island ferries, and the small Ilhéu de Sal Rei lies about a kilometre offshore.

Working conditions at Sal Rei

Sal Rei's wharf, built in 2015, is 160 metres long with a minimum depth of 7 metres and is protected by a 930-metre breakwater, so the berth itself is sheltered. Outside it, Boa Vista is a low, sandy island ringed by shoals and reefs — its coast is known for its shipwrecks — and the sand the trade wind carries off the island clouds the shallow water near the shore. Vessels that are too big for the wharf lie at anchor off the town.

Where we work: 160-metre wharf behind the breakwater · Anchorage off Sal Rei
Vessels we see here: General cargo and container coasters · Inter-island ferries · Fishing vessels

Hull Cleaning scopes at Sal Rei

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

Planning the window at Sal Rei

The trade-wind and swell season governs the calendar at Sal Rei Port, with the strongest trade winds from roughly December to May, and a short rainy season from August to October. The islands sit in open ocean, so a port's exposure depends on which side of its island it faces: the lee-side harbours stay calm while the trade wind blows, but long-period swell from North Atlantic storms reaches the north and west coasts in winter, and the late-summer tropical waves that pass through here can turn into storms. 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 160-metre wharf behind the breakwater and anchorage off Sal Rei, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. Teams mobilise via Boa Vista (BVC), 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 Sal Rei

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 Sal Rei

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Sal Rei. 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
ENAPOR – Portos de Cabo Verde 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 Sal Rei
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Boa Vista (BVC). Where a vessel is also calling at Palmeira, 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.

Sal Rei Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: CVSAR
Port type: State Port
Island: Boa Vista
Country: Cape Verde
Water body: Atlantic Ocean, behind the Ilhéu de Sal Rei
Port authority: ENAPOR – Portos de Cabo Verde
Main cargoes: Construction materials, Containers, General cargo, Food and supplies
Crew mobilisation: Boa Vista (BVC)
Services here: Hull Cleaning

Frequently asked — Sal Rei Port

Does Cleanship provide hull cleaning at Sal Rei Port?

Yes. We cover the full hull cleaning scope at Sal Rei Port (CVSAR), Boa Vista — underwater hull cleaning, propeller polishing, thruster cleaning & polishing, in-water class survey and UWILD. Teams mobilise via Boa Vista (BVC).

What is underwater visibility like at Sal Rei?

Visibility at Sal Rei Port is good in deeper water but reduced near the shore, where sand blown and washed off the island hangs in the shallows, and the trade-wind and swell season 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 Sal Rei?

ENAPOR – Portos de Cabo Verde issues the port-side approval at Sal Rei 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 Sal Rei?

General cargo and container coasters, Inter-island ferries, Fishing vessels — Sal Rei Port is the supply port of Boa Vista on a reef-lined coast, handling construction materials, containers, general cargo, food and supplies. 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 Sal Rei?

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 Sal Rei?

Yes. Palmeira, Praia and Mindelo 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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