Thruster Cleaning & Polishing at Baobab Marine Terminal
Full thrust restored when you need it most
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Tell us the vessel, the port and the window. Scoped reply, usually the same working day.
Cleanship Marine cleans and polishes bow and stern thrusters at Baobab Marine Terminal, Block CI-40. Divers clear the full tunnel bore, polish the blades and hub, and clear the gratings, restoring the manoeuvring thrust that quietly disappears while a vessel sits idle.
Thruster tunnels are the worst fouling trap on a hull — sheltered, still and almost never inspected. Growth builds on the tunnel walls, blades and gratings without anyone noticing until manoeuvring performance drops, and at Baobab — a deep-water FPSO field in up to 1,300 metres of water — that tends to show at exactly the moment the thrust is needed.
Deep water means everything at Baobab is done from vessels holding position at the surface — support vessels alongside the FPSO, and shuttle tankers during the approach to offloading. Their thrusters, often on dynamic positioning, are what keep them in place in the swell. A fouled thruster reduces the margin in exactly those operations, so thruster cleaning on the field fleet is planned between tasks to keep that margin intact.
What it gets you
- Manoeuvring thrust restored ahead of a berthing or a pilotage that needs it
- Tunnel and grating flow cleared, not just the visible blade faces
- Seal, boss and anode condition documented while the divers are already down
- Reduced reliance on tug assistance where thrust had quietly degraded
Working conditions at Baobab
Baobab is a deep-water field about 25 kilometres off the coast in 900 to 1,300 metres of water, so the FPSO is held by a spread mooring far above the sea bed and everything on the field works in open Atlantic swell. The depth means all work stays close to the surface — on the FPSO's hull, the mooring connections at the hull and the offloading vessels — and it is done under the operator's field permit system.
- Where we work
- FPSO Baobab Ivoirien on station · Shuttle tanker offloading area · Field support vessel moorings
- Vessels we see here
- FPSO Baobab Ivoirien MV10 · Shuttle tankers · Offshore support vessels
What we do at Baobab
- Full tunnel bore cleaned end to end, both openings, including the areas behind the gratings
- Blade and hub polished, with seal and boss condition inspected and reported
- Tunnel gratings cleared of growth and debris so flow is restored, not just the visible face
- Anodes inside the tunnel checked and wastage recorded
- Diving permission cleared with CNR International, with the thruster confirmed isolated and tagged out before the dive
- Video record of tunnel and blade condition before and after
Planning the window at Baobab
The combination of Atlantic swell and rain governs the calendar at Baobab 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 Baobab 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 Baobab
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.
On a 346,000-tonne FPSO that stays on station, the growth that matters is at the sea chests, water intakes and caissons, and around the mooring and riser connections at the hull, where it adds weight and blocks flow. The shuttle tankers show the ordinary pattern of growth from waiting in warm water for their offloading slot.
Standard scope of work
Included as standard on every thruster cleaning attendance, wherever the vessel is. Anything outside it is quoted separately and flagged before mobilisation, never added afterwards.
- Tunnel cleaning
- Fouling removed from the full length of the tunnel bore, including the areas behind gratings where growth is heaviest.
- Blade cleaning and polishing
- Propeller blades and hub cleaned and polished to restore surface finish and reduce cavitation-inducing roughness.
- Grating and guard clearance
- Gratings and rope guards cleared of growth, netting and debris that restrict flow or risk fouling the unit.
- Condition inspection
- Blade edges, seals and visible gearcase condition inspected and recorded, with any damage reported immediately.
How we deliver it at Baobab
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Baobab. 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 Baobab 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 Baobab
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ). Where a vessel is also calling at Espoir, 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 thruster 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.
Baobab Marine Terminal at a glance
- UN/LOCODE
- CIBAO
- Port type
- Private Port
- State
- Block CI-40
- Country
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Water body
- Gulf of Guinea
- Port authority
- CNR International
- Main cargoes
- Crude oil
- Crew mobilisation
- Abidjan (ABJ)
- Services here
- Hull Cleaning
Frequently asked — Thruster Cleaning at Baobab
Do you provide thruster cleaning at Baobab Marine Terminal?
Yes. Cleanship Marine works Baobab Marine Terminal (CIBAO) in Block CI-40, Côte d'Ivoire, covering the FPSO Baobab Ivoirien on station, shuttle tanker offloading area and field support vessel moorings. Teams mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ) with the full spread.
Why does thruster condition matter so much at Baobab?
Because in deep water there is nothing to anchor to near the FPSO — support vessels and shuttle tankers hold position with their thrusters, often on dynamic positioning. A fouled thruster reduces that capability. We clean the field fleet's thrusters between tasks.
Can thruster cleaning be done while the vessel works cargo at Baobab?
Only within the operator's permit system. Work on the FPSO is planned around production and offloading; shuttle tankers are cleaned while they wait in the field, never during a connected offloading. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Baobab and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.
Do you need a diving permit from CNR International?
Yes, and we obtain it. Diving permission from CNR International, terminal approval where the berth requires it, and any environmental clearance for in-water work are arranged as part of the job rather than left with the agent. The master's permit to work and the immobilisation of machinery are agreed on board before anyone enters the water.
What is underwater visibility like at Baobab?
Visibility at Baobab Marine Terminal is good — clear, deep open-sea water — so the swell and the field's operations set the window, not what a diver can see, 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.
Which vessels do you carry out thruster cleaning on at Baobab?
FPSO Baobab Ivoirien MV10, Shuttle tankers and Offshore support vessels — the traffic at Baobab Marine Terminal runs to crude oil, so those are the profiles we see most. The scope is sized to the vessel, not to a standard package.
How quickly can a team mobilise to Baobab?
Divers and equipment mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ). Give us the ETA and the window and we will confirm what is achievable rather than promise a date we cannot hold. Where the vessel also calls at Espoir or Lion, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.
What does thruster cleaning at Baobab cost?
It depends on the vessel's dimensions and wetted area, the fouling state found, the coating specification and the working window available at Baobab. We would rather scope it properly and give you a specific figure than quote a headline rate that changes once the work starts. Send the details and the window at Baobab and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.
Thruster Cleaning & Polishing at Baobab Marine Terminal.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Baobab and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.