Baobab Marine Terminal · CIBAO

UWILD at Baobab Marine Terminal

Survey credit earned without leaving the water

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Tell us the vessel, the port and the window. Scoped reply, usually the same working day.

Cleanship Marine runs full UWILD programmes — Underwater Inspection In Lieu of Drydocking — at Baobab Marine Terminal, Block CI-40, from eligibility discussion through class liaison to the final report package.

UWILD lets a vessel satisfy a survey requirement that would otherwise mean a dry docking, at a fraction of the cost and with none of the off-hire. The requirements are exacting: the contractor must hold class approval, the vessel must be eligible, hull markings must let the surveyor locate features precisely, and the inspection has to be delivered live and documented. Survey work at an open anchorage lives and dies on the weather window, so class attendance is booked with a realistic standby allowance rather than a single optimistic date.

For an FPSO moored in up to 1,300 metres of water, the dry-docking survey is met under water — there is no realistic alternative while she produces. At Baobab the value is in how the programme is run: planned over several windows, with live video to the surveyor, thickness readings where required, and a report the class society can accept, so that the FPSO stays in class without interrupting the field.

What it gets you

Drydocking deferred and the survey credit earned in the water
Class liaison handled end to end rather than left with the superintendent
Eligibility confirmed before cost is committed, not discovered afterwards
A documented inspection record that stands up to class review

Working conditions at Baobab

Baobab is a deep-water field about 25 kilometres off the coast in 900 to 1,300 metres of water, so the FPSO is held by a spread mooring far above the sea bed and everything on the field works in open Atlantic swell. The depth means all work stays close to the surface — on the FPSO's hull, the mooring connections at the hull and the offloading vessels — and it is done under the operator's field permit system.

Where we work: FPSO Baobab Ivoirien on station · Shuttle tanker offloading area · Field support vessel moorings
Vessels we see here: FPSO Baobab Ivoirien MV10 · Shuttle tankers · Offshore support vessels

What we do at Baobab

Eligibility review against the vessel's age, type, class notation and survey history before anything is booked
Programme agreed with the class society and the surveyor attending at Baobab
Hull, rudder, propeller, stern gear, sea chests and appendages inspected to the UWILD scope
Live video, thickness measurement and clearance readings where the programme calls for them
Diving permission cleared with CNR International, with the vessel secured and machinery immobilised
Complete report package submitted for the class file and the drydocking credit

Planning the window at Baobab

The combination of Atlantic swell and rain governs the calendar at Baobab 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 Baobab 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 Baobab

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.

On a 346,000-tonne FPSO that stays on station, the growth that matters is at the sea chests, water intakes and caissons, and around the mooring and riser connections at the hull, where it adds weight and blocks flow. The shuttle tankers show the ordinary pattern of growth from waiting in warm water for their offloading slot.

Standard scope of work

Included as standard on every UWILD attendance, wherever the vessel is. Anything outside it is quoted separately and flagged before mobilisation, never added afterwards.

Eligibility and planning: Vessel eligibility, survey scope and the society's specific requirements are established and agreed before mobilisation.
Hull preparation: Reference markings and cleaning of inspection areas so structure and features can be located and viewed unambiguously.
Systematic inspection: Shell plating, welds, rudder, propeller, sea chests, openings, anodes and appendages inspected to the agreed programme.
Measurement and NDT: Clearance measurement and underwater NDT carried out where the survey scope requires it.
Documentation: Video, stills, measurements and findings compiled into a report package suitable for submission to the classification society.

Full UWILD service details

How we deliver it at Baobab

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Baobab. 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 Baobab 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 Baobab
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ). Where a vessel is also calling at Espoir, 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 UWILD 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.

Baobab Marine Terminal at a glance

UN/LOCODE: CIBAO
Port type: Private Port
State: Block CI-40
Country: Côte d'Ivoire
Water body: Gulf of Guinea
Port authority: CNR International
Main cargoes: Crude oil
Crew mobilisation: Abidjan (ABJ)
Services here: Hull Cleaning

Frequently asked — UWILD Inspection at Baobab

Do you provide UWILD at Baobab Marine Terminal?

Yes. Cleanship Marine works Baobab Marine Terminal (CIBAO) in Block CI-40, Côte d'Ivoire, covering the FPSO Baobab Ivoirien on station, shuttle tanker offloading area and field support vessel moorings. Teams mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ) with the full spread.

Is UWILD how the Baobab FPSO meets her dry-docking survey?

Yes — an FPSO in deep water on long-term station meets it under water. We deliver the UWILD programme over several planned dive windows, with live video to the surveyor and a full report for class, organised with the operator so production is not interrupted.

Can UWILD be done while the vessel works cargo at Baobab?

Only within the operator's permit system. Work on the FPSO is planned around production and offloading; shuttle tankers are cleaned while they wait in the field, never 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 Baobab 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 Baobab?

Visibility at Baobab Marine Terminal is good — clear, deep open-sea water — so the swell and the field's operations set the window, not what a diver can see, 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 UWILD on at Baobab?

FPSO Baobab Ivoirien MV10, Shuttle tankers and Offshore support vessels — the traffic at Baobab Marine 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 Baobab?

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 Espoir or Lion, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.

What does UWILD at Baobab cost?

It depends on the vessel's dimensions and wetted area, the fouling state found, the coating specification and the working window available at Baobab. 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 Baobab and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.

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