Thruster Cleaning & Polishing at Palmeira Port
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 Palmeira Port, Sal. 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 Palmeira — Sal's fuel import port in some of the clearest water on our list — that tends to show at exactly the moment the thrust is needed.
Palmeira is a small port with a lot of different users on one short pier — tankers, coasters, RoRo cargo and ferries — so vessels berth tight and depend on their thrusters to do it. Sal's trade wind blows across the island and the bay, and a fouled thruster tunnel shows up when a coaster is trying to hold her bow against it. A thruster clean at the anchorage before berthing gives the thrust back when the tight berthing needs it.
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 Palmeira
Palmeira is on the west side of Sal, in the lee of an island that is flat, dry and swept by the north-east trade wind for most of the year. The island takes the wind; the bay behind it is calm. With almost no rainfall and no rivers, nothing clouds the water, and visibility here is among the best on the whole coverage list. The main constraint is the size of the port — a small pier that the fuel tankers, coasters and ferries share — so in-water work is planned around the berth schedule or taken at anchor in the bay.
- Where we work
- Commercial pier · Fuel discharge berth · Anchorage in Palmeira bay
- Vessels we see here
- Product tankers delivering fuel · Container and RoRo coasters · Inter-island ferries · Fishing vessels
What we do at Palmeira
- 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 ENAPOR – Portos de Cabo Verde, 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 Palmeira
The trade-wind and swell season governs the calendar at Palmeira 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. Water clarity here is good by regional standards, so the operation can be properly documented on video as it happens — an advantage that turns a cleaning job into usable condition evidence at no extra mobilisation cost.
Work is taken at the commercial pier, fuel discharge berth and anchorage in Palmeira bay, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. Teams mobilise via Sal (SID), 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 Palmeira
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.
Clearer water means the fouling state can be assessed properly before any tooling is selected, and the assessment can be shown to you rather than described.
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 Palmeira
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Palmeira. 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 Palmeira
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Sal (SID). Where a vessel is also calling at Sal Rei, 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.
Palmeira Port at a glance
- UN/LOCODE
- CVPAL
- Port type
- State Port
- Island
- Sal
- Country
- Cape Verde
- Water body
- Baía da Palmeira, Atlantic Ocean
- Port authority
- ENAPOR – Portos de Cabo Verde
- Main cargoes
- Fuel imports, Containers, General cargo, Fishing catch
- Crew mobilisation
- Sal (SID)
- Services here
- Hull Cleaning
Frequently asked — Thruster Cleaning at Palmeira
Do you provide thruster cleaning at Palmeira Port?
Yes. Cleanship Marine works Palmeira Port (CVPAL) in Sal, Cape Verde, covering the commercial pier, fuel discharge berth and anchorage in Palmeira bay. Teams mobilise via Sal (SID) with the full spread.
Can the thruster be cleaned at anchor before we come alongside at Palmeira?
Yes. With the thruster isolated and tagged out, the divers clean the tunnel, blades and gratings at the anchorage in Palmeira bay, and it is back in service before the berthing. The calm water in the bay makes it a quick job.
Can thruster cleaning be done while the vessel works cargo at Palmeira?
Yes. Conditions here are good enough that the dive runs alongside cargo operations without either holding the other up, and the work is documented on video as it goes. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Palmeira and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.
Do you need a diving permit from ENAPOR – Portos de Cabo Verde?
Yes, and we obtain it. Diving permission from ENAPOR – Portos de Cabo Verde, 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 Palmeira?
Visibility at Palmeira Port is excellent: Sal has no rivers and almost no rain, so nothing clouds the water in the bay, 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.
Which vessels do you carry out thruster cleaning on at Palmeira?
Product tankers delivering fuel, Container and RoRo coasters, Inter-island ferries, Fishing vessels — the traffic at Palmeira Port runs to fuel imports, containers and general cargo, 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 Palmeira?
Divers and equipment mobilise via Sal (SID). 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 Sal Rei or Mindelo, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.
What does thruster cleaning at Palmeira cost?
It depends on the vessel's dimensions and wetted area, the fouling state found, the coating specification and the working window available at Palmeira. 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 Palmeira and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.
Thruster Cleaning & Polishing at Palmeira Port.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Palmeira and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.