Bas-Sassandra · CISPY

Hull Cleaning at San Pédro Port

In-water hull, propeller and survey work at San Pédro Port — the world's largest cocoa export 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 San Pédro Port (CISPY), Bas-Sassandra — 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.

San Pédro is the world's largest cocoa export port and Côte d'Ivoire's second harbour, working timber, manganese and containers alongside it. Traffic is smaller bulk and reefer tonnage on seasonal cocoa rotations.

Working conditions at San Pédro

San Pédro is a breakwater harbour with reasonable shelter inside and clearer Atlantic water than the lagoon ports, which makes documented inspection worth commissioning here. The swell still governs the outer anchorage. The port is quieter than Abidjan, so berth windows are less contested and a job that needs a full shift can usually have one.

Where we work: Breakwater berths · Outer anchorage
Vessels we see here: Handysize bulk carriers · General cargo and reefer vessels · Feeder container ships

Hull Cleaning scopes at San Pédro

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

Planning the window at San Pédro

The Atlantic swell and the rains governs the calendar at San Pédro 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 breakwater berths and outer anchorage, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. Teams mobilise via San Pédro (SPY) or 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 San Pédro

Dry bulk handling here puts cargo dust into the water around the berths and anchorage. It settles on horizontal surfaces and packs into sea chest gratings and inlet openings, so inlet and grating clearance is routinely a larger part of the job at San Pédro than owners budget for.

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 San Pédro

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at San Pédro. 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 San Pédro 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 San Pédro
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via San Pédro (SPY) or Abidjan (ABJ). Where a vessel is also calling at Abidjan, 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.

San Pédro Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: CISPY
Port type: State Port
State: Bas-Sassandra
Country: Côte d'Ivoire
Water body: Gulf of Guinea
Port authority: Port Autonome de San Pédro
Main cargoes: Cocoa, Timber and logs, Manganese ore, Containers, General cargo
Crew mobilisation: San Pédro (SPY) / Abidjan (ABJ)
Services here: Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning

Frequently asked — San Pédro Port

Does Cleanship provide hull cleaning at San Pédro Port?

Yes. We cover the full hull cleaning scope at San Pédro Port (CISPY), Bas-Sassandra — underwater hull cleaning, propeller polishing, thruster cleaning & polishing, in-water class survey and UWILD. Teams mobilise via San Pédro (SPY) or Abidjan (ABJ).

What is underwater visibility like at San Pédro?

Visibility at San Pédro 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 San Pédro?

Port Autonome de San Pédro issues the port-side approval at San Pédro 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 San Pédro?

Handysize bulk carriers, General cargo and reefer vessels, Feeder container ships — San Pédro Port is the world's largest cocoa export port, handling cocoa, timber and logs, manganese ore, containers, general cargo. 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 San Pédro?

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 San Pédro?

Yes. Abidjan, Monrovia and Tema 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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