Thruster Cleaning & Polishing at Vridi Oil Terminals
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 Vridi Oil Terminals, 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 Vridi — Abidjan's oil terminals along the Vridi Canal — that tends to show at exactly the moment the thrust is needed.
Berthing a tanker in the Vridi Canal means manoeuvring in a narrow channel with a current and passing traffic, and the thruster is doing real work the whole time. A tunnel fouled by the brackish lagoon water that flows through the canal gives less thrust exactly when it matters. The thruster is cleaned at the anchorage or, with the terminal's permission, at slack water alongside, and isolated with the master first.
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 Vridi
The Vridi Canal is a straight cut 2.7 kilometres long, 370 metres wide and about 13.5 metres deep, opened in 1950 to join the sea to the Ébrié Lagoon, and the oil terminals line its banks. That puts the tanker berths in a narrow, busy channel with a current running through it as the lagoon exchanges water with the sea, rather than in a quiet basin. In-water work at these berths is therefore timed around the current and the canal traffic, and always agreed with the terminal, because every one of them is a hazardous-cargo berth.
- Where we work
- Oil berths along the Vridi Canal · Petroci and SIAP tanker berths · Anchorage off the canal entrance
- Vessels we see here
- Product tankers · Bitumen tankers · LPG carriers · Bunker barges
What we do at Vridi
- 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 Vridi
The combination of Atlantic swell and rain governs the calendar at Vridi Oil Terminals, 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 oil berths along the Vridi Canal, Petroci and SIAP tanker berths, anchorage off the canal entrance, 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 Vridi
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.
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.
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 Vridi
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Vridi. 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 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. 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 Vridi
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ). Where a vessel is also calling at Lion, 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.
Vridi Oil Terminals at a glance
- UN/LOCODE
- CIPBT
- Port type
- State Port
- State
- Abidjan
- Country
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Water body
- Vridi Canal and the Ébrié Lagoon
- Port authority
- Port Autonome d'Abidjan
- Main cargoes
- Crude oil and refined products, Bitumen, LPG
- Crew mobilisation
- Abidjan (ABJ)
- Services here
- Hull Cleaning
Frequently asked — Thruster Cleaning at Vridi
Do you provide thruster cleaning at Vridi Oil Terminals?
Yes. Cleanship Marine works Vridi Oil Terminals (CIPBT) in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, covering the oil berths along the Vridi Canal, Petroci and SIAP tanker berths, anchorage off the canal entrance. Teams mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ) with the full spread.
Why is thruster condition important for tankers berthing in the Vridi Canal?
Because the canal is narrow, has a current and carries passing traffic, so the thruster is working hard during every berthing. A fouled tunnel gives less thrust when it is needed most. We clean it at the anchorage, or alongside at slack water where the terminal allows.
Can thruster cleaning be done while the vessel works cargo at Vridi?
Only with the terminal's agreement, because every berth on the Vridi Canal is a hazardous-cargo berth. Where the terminal permits it, work is done alongside at slack water in the canal; where it does not, the vessel is cleaned at the anchorage off the canal entrance before or after her berth. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Vridi 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 Vridi?
Visibility at Vridi Oil Terminals is low to moderate — the canal carries lagoon water out to sea and sea water in, and the brackish, sediment-laden lagoon side is much cloudier than the open sea outside, 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 Vridi?
Product tankers, Bitumen tankers, LPG carriers and Bunker barges — the traffic at Vridi Oil Terminals runs to crude oil and refined products, bitumen, LPG, 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 Vridi?
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 Lion or Abidjan, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.
What does thruster cleaning at Vridi cost?
It depends on the vessel's dimensions and wetted area, the fouling state found, the coating specification and the working window available at Vridi. 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 Vridi and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.
Thruster Cleaning & Polishing at Vridi Oil Terminals.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Vridi and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.