Thruster Cleaning & Polishing at Lion 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 Lion Terminal, Abidjan. 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 Lion — the crude discharge buoy off Port-Bouët — that tends to show at exactly the moment the thrust is needed.
Most very large crude carriers calling at Lion Terminal have no bow thruster — they are brought onto the buoy with the help of tugs and mooring craft. So thruster cleaning here is mostly for the smaller tankers that do carry one, and for the support and mooring craft that work the buoy. Those boats spend their time in warm water between jobs and depend on their thrusters when handling hoses and hawsers at the SPM.
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 Lion
Lion Terminal is a single point mooring in open sea about 1.2 nautical miles off the Port-Bouët lighthouse, so there is no shelter at all: a tanker on the buoy, or waiting for it, takes the full Atlantic swell running onto this coast. Mooring is in daylight only, and pilots board at a temporary anchorage a few miles off the Vridi Canal entrance. No in-water work is done at the buoy or while a tanker is connected; it happens at that anchorage, before or after.
- Where we work
- Temporary anchorage off the Vridi Canal entrance · Sea area outside the SPM safety zone
- Vessels we see here
- Crude tankers of 80,000 to 250,000 dwt · Mooring and support craft
What we do at Lion
- 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 Port Autonome d'Abidjan, 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 Lion
The combination of Atlantic swell and rain governs the calendar at Lion 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. The buoy itself is off limits, so hull work is done with the tanker at the temporary anchorage off the Vridi Canal entrance, before she is moored or after she is released; the dive plan is built around the daylight mooring schedule and the swell.
Work is taken at the temporary anchorage off the Vridi Canal entrance and sea area outside the SPM safety zone, 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 Lion
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.
The large crude tankers that discharge at Lion Terminal often wait at the anchorage for their daylight mooring slot, and waiting in warm Gulf of Guinea water is what adds growth fastest. Because they arrive laden and leave light, the hull they present at the anchorage before discharge is at its deepest — the full wetted area is underwater.
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 Lion
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Lion. 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 Lion Terminal is the terminal operator's decision as much as Port Autonome d'Abidjan'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 Lion
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ). Where a vessel is also calling at Vridi, 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.
Lion Terminal at a glance
- Port type
- Private Port
- State
- Abidjan
- Country
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Water body
- Gulf of Guinea, off Port-Bouët
- Port authority
- Port Autonome d'Abidjan
- Main cargoes
- Crude oil
- Crew mobilisation
- Abidjan (ABJ)
- Services here
- Hull Cleaning
Frequently asked — Thruster Cleaning at Lion
Do you provide thruster cleaning at Lion Terminal?
Yes. Cleanship Marine works Lion Terminal in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, covering the temporary anchorage off the Vridi Canal entrance and sea area outside the SPM safety zone. Teams mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ) with the full spread.
Do the large tankers at Lion Terminal need thruster cleaning?
Many very large crude carriers have no bow thruster, so usually not. Thruster cleaning at Lion Terminal is mainly for the smaller tankers that are fitted with one and for the support and mooring craft that work the buoy.
Can thruster cleaning be done while the vessel works cargo at Lion?
No — nothing is done while a tanker is connected to the buoy. Hull work is done at the temporary anchorage off the Vridi Canal entrance, typically while she waits for her daylight mooring slot, or after she is released. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Lion and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.
Do you need a diving permit from Port Autonome d'Abidjan?
Yes, and we obtain it. Diving permission from Port Autonome d'Abidjan, 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 Lion?
Visibility at Lion Terminal is good by the standards of this coast — it is open sea water, clearer than the lagoon inside the Vridi Canal — so the swell rather than visibility decides when a diver can work, 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 Lion?
Crude tankers of 80,000 to 250,000 dwt, Mooring and support craft — the traffic at Lion 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 Lion?
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 Vridi or Abidjan, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.
What does thruster cleaning at Lion cost?
It depends on the vessel's dimensions and wetted area, the fouling state found, the coating specification and the working window available at Lion. 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 Lion and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.
Thruster Cleaning & Polishing at Lion Terminal.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Lion and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.