Underwater Hull Cleaning at Bissau Port
Full hull cleaned in the water, vessel stays on hire
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Tell us the vessel, the port and the window. Scoped reply, usually the same working day.
Cleanship Marine provides underwater hull cleaning at Bissau Port, Bissau, working the main T-shaped pier and southwest pier. Commercial dive teams remove slime, weed and shell growth from the vertical sides, flat bottom, bilge keels, sea chests and niche areas with the vessel afloat and on hire — no dry dock, no diversion, no off-hire.
The Port of Bissau is Guinea-Bissau's main port and handles almost all of the country's trade, chief among it raw cashew nuts — the country's main export, shipped in containers. Ships call to a T-shaped pier built in 1993 and an older southwest pier, and port stays are long: the port handles far more containers than it was designed for, and an average call runs to more than two weeks.
The Geba estuary's tide — up to about 7 metres at springs — means divers can only work safely around slack water. At Bissau that is less of a limit than it sounds, because ships stay for a long time: the average call runs to more than two weeks. We use that time to clean the hull across several slack-water windows, so the ship sails on schedule with a clean bottom.
What it gets you
- Hydrodynamic smoothness restored before fouling reaches the calcareous stage that damages coating
- Fuel and emissions penalty from drag reduced without taking the vessel off hire
- Documented condition record for the technical file and the next docking specification
- Sea chests and inlets cleared, protecting cooling water flow
Working conditions at Bissau
Bissau lies on the Geba River estuary, where the tidal range reaches up to about 7 metres at spring tides — several times what most of the West African coast sees. The tide sets everything: the stream runs hard through the estuary, dives are only possible around slack water, and the water carries enough silt that divers work by touch. The pier offers around 7 metres of water, so ships often wait at anchor for the tide and the berth.
- Where we work
- Main T-shaped pier · Southwest pier · Bissau anchorage
- Vessels we see here
- Feeder container ships · General cargo ships · Product tankers · Fishing vessels
What we do at Bissau
- Pre-clean fouling survey to establish coverage, growth type and coating condition before any tool touches the hull
- Brush cart cleaning of the flat bottom and vertical sides, with brush hardness selected against your antifouling specification
- Hand cleaning of bilge keels, rudder, stern frame, thruster tunnels, anodes and the niches a cart cannot follow
- Sea chest gratings and inlet openings cleared of growth and debris to restore cooling water flow
- Diving permission cleared with Administração dos Portos da Guiné-Bissau (APGB) and the terminal before mobilisation
- Before-and-after video and stills, with a written report on coating condition and anode wastage
Planning the window at Bissau
The combination of Atlantic swell and rain governs the calendar at Bissau Port, 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. With a tidal range of up to 7 metres and strong streams in the estuary, every dive is timed to slack water and supervised from the surface, and the team works by touch in the silty water. A hull clean is split across several slack-water windows during the call.
Work is taken at the main T-shaped pier, southwest pier and Bissau anchorage, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. Teams mobilise via Bissau (OXB), 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 Bissau
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.
Port stays at Bissau are long, often more than two weeks, and ships lie in warm, silty estuary water for much of that time. Hulls pick up heavy growth on the flat bottom and sea chests fill with silt and weed.
Standard scope of work
Included as standard on every underwater hull cleaning attendance, wherever the vessel is. Anything outside it is quoted separately and flagged before mobilisation, never added afterwards.
- Fouling survey
- A pre-clean dive establishes fouling type, coverage and severity, and confirms coating condition so the correct tooling is selected.
- Flat bottom and vertical sides
- Brush cart cleaning of large areas, removing slime, weed and shell growth to restore surface smoothness.
- Niche areas
- Hand cleaning of bilge keels, bow thruster tunnels, rudder, stern frame, anodes and other niche areas where fouling concentrates.
- Sea chests and gratings
- Sea chest gratings and inlet openings cleared of growth and debris to restore cooling water flow.
- Documentation
- Underwater video and stills before and after, with a written report covering coating condition and anode wastage.
How we deliver it at Bissau
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Bissau. 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
Administração dos Portos da Guiné-Bissau (APGB) 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 Bissau
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Bissau (OXB). Where a vessel is also calling at Banjul, 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 underwater hull 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.
Bissau Port at a glance
- UN/LOCODE
- GWOXB
- Port type
- State Port
- State
- Bissau
- Country
- Guinea-Bissau
- Water body
- Geba River estuary
- Port authority
- Administração dos Portos da Guiné-Bissau (APGB)
- Main cargoes
- Containers (cashew exports), Rice and general imports, Fuel, Fishing catch
- Crew mobilisation
- Bissau (OXB)
- Services here
- Hull Cleaning
Frequently asked — Underwater Hull Cleaning at Bissau
Do you provide underwater hull cleaning at Bissau Port?
Yes. Cleanship Marine works Bissau Port (GWOXB) in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, covering the main T-shaped pier, southwest pier and Bissau anchorage. Teams mobilise via Bissau (OXB) with the full spread.
How is hull cleaning planned at Bissau with such large tides?
Dives are timed to slack water, around an hour each side of high and low water. Because port stays at Bissau are long, we spread the clean across several windows during the call.
Can underwater hull cleaning be done while the vessel works cargo at Bissau?
Around slack water, alongside or at the anchorage — the long average port stay at Bissau usually leaves plenty of slack-water windows to plan a full clean. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Bissau and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.
Do you need a diving permit from Administração dos Portos da Guiné-Bissau (APGB)?
Yes, and we obtain it. Diving permission from Administração dos Portos da Guiné-Bissau (APGB), 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 Bissau?
Visibility at Bissau Port is low — the Geba estuary is tidal and silty, with strong streams except around slack water, 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 underwater hull cleaning on at Bissau?
Feeder container ships, General cargo ships, Product tankers and Fishing vessels — the traffic at Bissau Port runs to containers (cashew exports), rice and general imports, fuel, 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 Bissau?
Divers and equipment mobilise via Bissau (OXB). 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 Banjul or Conakry, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.
What does underwater hull cleaning at Bissau cost?
It depends on the vessel's dimensions and wetted area, the fouling state found, the coating specification and the working window available at Bissau. 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 Bissau and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.
Underwater Hull Cleaning at Bissau Port.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Bissau and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.