Abidjan · CIABJ

Tank Cleaning at Abidjan Port

Grade changes, sludge removal and shore tanks at Abidjan Port — sheltered lagoon water behind the Vridi Canal.

Get a quote

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

Cleanship Marine cleans cargo, bunker and shore tanks at Abidjan Port (CIABJ), Abidjan — grade changes on product and chemical tankers, sludge demucking, terminal storage tanks and offshore support vessel turnarounds. Abidjan refines and exports product, so the tank work here is grade changes on product tankers plus bunker and slop cleaning. Licensed slop reception is limited on this coast, so it is booked before the tanks are opened rather than assumed.

Working conditions at Abidjan

Work here runs both alongside and at anchorage depending on the call, and on the passage out where neither gives enough time. The Atlantic swell and the rains sets the outer limits of the calendar, with the heaviest rain from May to October and swell running year-round, and it affects the anchorage far more than the berth. Humidity is high year-round and the rains make it worse, which matters more than temperature for enclosed-space work: holds will not dry, and a hold that cannot be dried cannot be closed. Approval runs through Port Autonome d'Abidjan and the terminal operator, and licensed slop reception is booked before the tanks are opened — at most ports on this list that booking, not the cleaning, is what sets the date.

Where we work: Container terminal berths · Oil and general cargo quays · Lagoon anchorage
Vessels we see here: Container ships · Product tankers · General cargo and reefer vessels · Fishing fleet and support craft

Tank Cleaning scopes at Abidjan

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

Planning the window at Abidjan

The Atlantic swell and the rains governs the calendar at Abidjan Port, with the heaviest rain from May to October and swell running year-round. For tank work it is the anchorage that suffers — where the terminal will not permit work alongside, weather that closes the anchorage closes the job. Whether the work runs alongside, at anchorage or on passage depends on the terminal and the grade, so the plan is built against the actual call. Where a terminal will not permit tank work at the berth, we say so at quoting stage rather than after mobilisation.

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 Abidjan

Crude parcels here mean sludge, not just residue. The volume that comes out of a crude tank is a disposal problem as much as a cleaning one, so slop reception and licensed disposal are arranged before the work starts rather than discovered after it.

What we find depends on whether the vessel has had time at anchorage or come straight off a berth, so the tank condition is confirmed on inspection rather than assumed from the previous cargo alone.

How we deliver it at Abidjan

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the prior and next grade and the window at Abidjan. 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
Approvals, slops and certification
Port Autonome d'Abidjan 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. Licensed slop and sludge reception is booked and marine chemist attendance arranged where the grade change requires it. At Abidjan the disposal route is the item that most often sets the schedule, so it is fixed first.
3
Mobilisation to Abidjan
Crews, pumps, machines and chemicals mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ). Where a vessel is also calling at San Pédro, one mobilisation is normally sized to cover both.
4
Gas-freeing, entry and cleaning
Atmosphere testing, gas-freeing and enclosed-space entry certification come before any entry, and are repeated after every break. Standby cover and atmosphere monitoring run continuously while anyone is inside, and progress is reported tank by tank.
5
Report and handover
A completion report covering tank cleaning is issued with before-and-after imagery, tank by tank and anything found that you should know about. The findings are discussed with the vessel rather than emailed and forgotten.

Abidjan Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: CIABJ
Port type: State Port
State: Abidjan
Country: Côte d'Ivoire
Water body: Ébrié Lagoon, via the Vridi Canal
Port authority: Port Autonome d'Abidjan
Main cargoes: Containers, Cocoa and coffee, Crude and refined products, General cargo, Fishing catch
Crew mobilisation: Abidjan (ABJ)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Abidjan Port

Does Cleanship provide tank cleaning at Abidjan Port?

Yes. We cover the full tank cleaning scope at Abidjan Port (CIABJ), Abidjan — tanker tank cleaning — DPP & CPP, tank demucking, shore tank cleaning and offshore vessel tank cleaning. Teams mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ).

Where is the work done at Abidjan — alongside, at anchorage or on passage?

Work here runs both alongside and at anchorage depending on the call, and on the passage out where neither gives enough time. Between June and September the binding constraint is working temperature inside the space rather than access to it.

Who approves tank cleaning work at Abidjan?

Port Autonome d'Abidjan issues the port-side approval at Abidjan Port, with terminal approval on top where the berth requires it. We arrange both, along with the waste reception and disposal route, so it does not fall to the agent or the master.

Which vessels call at Abidjan?

Container ships, Product tankers, General cargo and reefer vessels, Fishing fleet and support craft — Abidjan Port is sheltered lagoon water behind the Vridi Canal, handling containers, cocoa and coffee, crude and refined products, general cargo, fishing catch. What sizes a tank job is the tank count, the prior and next grade and how much sludge is carried, not the vessel's dimensions.

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

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. Tank work runs alongside where the terminal permits it, and otherwise at anchorage or on the passage out — none of which takes the vessel off hire.

Do you cover other ports near Abidjan?

Yes. Tema all sit within the same operating range for tank cleaning, and a single mobilisation is often sized to cover more than one vessel on the same trip. We work 32 ports on the coverage list for this line.

Get in touch