Underwater Hull Cleaning at Espoir Marine Terminal
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 Espoir Marine Terminal, Block CI-26, working the FPSO Espoir Ivoirien on station and shuttle tanker offloading area. 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.
Espoir is an offshore oil field in Block CI-26, operated by CNR International with Petroci and Tullow as partners. A wellhead platform feeds the FPSO Espoir Ivoirien, which stores up to 1.16 million barrels and offloads crude to shuttle tankers, while gas goes ashore by subsea pipeline to generate electricity in Abidjan. The FPSO is owned by BW Offshore and has stayed on station under successive lease extensions.
The FPSO Espoir Ivoirien has been moored on the field for years and will not see a dry dock while she produces, so her hull is cleaned where she is. The priority on an FPSO is not speed but flow: sea chests, water intakes and caissons clogged with growth reduce the cooling and process water the plant needs. At Espoir, hull cleaning is therefore planned with the operator as maintenance of the production system, not as a fuel-saving job.
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 Espoir
Espoir lies in open sea about 10 nautical miles south of Jacqueville and 32 nautical miles south-west of Abidjan, so everything here — the FPSO, the shuttle tankers and the support vessels — works in the full Atlantic swell with no shelter. The field has a wellhead platform feeding the FPSO, and all diving is done under the operator's field permit system, planned around production, offloading and the weather rather than a berth.
- Where we work
- FPSO Espoir Ivoirien on station · Shuttle tanker offloading area · Field support vessel moorings
- Vessels we see here
- FPSO Espoir Ivoirien · Shuttle tankers · Offshore support vessels
What we do at Espoir
- 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 CNR International 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 Espoir
The combination of Atlantic swell and rain governs the calendar at Espoir 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 Espoir 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 Espoir
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.
An FPSO that has been on station for years has never had its hull cleaned by a dock, so growth builds in layers, and it matters most at the sea chests, water intakes and caissons, where fouling cuts the cooling and process water flow the plant depends on. Shuttle tankers and support vessels show the more familiar pattern of growth from long periods of slow steaming and waiting.
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 Espoir
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Espoir. 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 Espoir 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 Espoir
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ). Where a vessel is also calling at Baobab, 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.
Espoir Marine Terminal at a glance
- UN/LOCODE
- CIESP
- Port type
- Private Port
- State
- Block CI-26
- Country
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Water body
- Gulf of Guinea
- Port authority
- CNR International
- Main cargoes
- Crude oil, Associated gas piped ashore
- Crew mobilisation
- Abidjan (ABJ)
- Services here
- Hull Cleaning
Frequently asked — Underwater Hull Cleaning at Espoir
Do you provide underwater hull cleaning at Espoir Marine Terminal?
Yes. Cleanship Marine works Espoir Marine Terminal (CIESP) in Block CI-26, Côte d'Ivoire, covering the FPSO Espoir Ivoirien on station, shuttle tanker offloading area and field support vessel moorings. Teams mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ) with the full spread.
Why clean the hull of an FPSO that never sails?
Because fouling on an FPSO blocks sea chests, intakes and caissons and reduces the water flow the production plant depends on. At Espoir the cleaning is planned with the operator as part of keeping the plant running, within the field's permit system.
Can underwater hull cleaning be done while the vessel works cargo at Espoir?
Only within the operator's permit system. On the FPSO, in-water work is planned around production and offloading; on a shuttle tanker, it is done while she waits in the field rather than 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 Espoir 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 Espoir?
Visibility at Espoir Marine Terminal is good — this is clear open-sea water well offshore — so the swell and the field's operations rather than visibility decide the window, 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 Espoir?
FPSO Espoir Ivoirien, Shuttle tankers and Offshore support vessels — the traffic at Espoir Marine Terminal runs to crude oil and associated gas piped ashore, 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 Espoir?
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 Baobab or Lion, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.
What does underwater hull cleaning at Espoir cost?
It depends on the vessel's dimensions and wetted area, the fouling state found, the coating specification and the working window available at Espoir. 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 Espoir and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.
Underwater Hull Cleaning at Espoir Marine Terminal.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Espoir and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.