UWILD at Cotonou Port
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 Cotonou Port, Littoral, 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. Shelter is on your side here — the vessel is stable and the dive is uninterrupted — but basin silt means the lighting and camera plan has to be agreed with the surveyor before the class attendance is booked, not improvised on the day.
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 Cotonou
Cotonou is a breakwater harbour that handles a large share of the transit trade into Niger and Burkina Faso, which means congestion and long anchorage waits are routine rather than exceptional. That wait is the in-water opportunity. The Atlantic swell reaches the anchorage and the rains from May to October are heavy; the basin itself stays workable.
- Where we work
- Container and general cargo berths · RoRo berth · Outer anchorage
- Vessels we see here
- Feeder container ships · RoRo and vehicle carriers · Handysize bulk carriers · General cargo ships
What we do at Cotonou
- 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 Cotonou
- 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 Port Autonome de Cotonou, with the vessel secured and machinery immobilised
- Complete report package submitted for the class file and the drydocking credit
Planning the window at Cotonou
The Atlantic swell and the rains governs the calendar at Cotonou 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. 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 container and general cargo berths, RoRo berth, outer anchorage, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. Teams mobilise via Cotonou (COO), 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 Cotonou
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.
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 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.
How we deliver it at Cotonou
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Cotonou. 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 de Cotonou 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 Cotonou
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Cotonou (COO). Where a vessel is also calling at Lomé, 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.
Cotonou Port at a glance
- UN/LOCODE
- BJCOO
- Port type
- State Port
- State
- Littoral
- Country
- Benin
- Water body
- Gulf of Guinea
- Port authority
- Port Autonome de Cotonou
- Main cargoes
- Containers, Cotton, Grain and agricultural bulk, General cargo, Vehicles and RoRo, Fuel
- Crew mobilisation
- Cotonou (COO)
- Services here
- Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning
Frequently asked — UWILD Inspection at Cotonou
Do you provide UWILD at Cotonou Port?
Yes. Cleanship Marine works Cotonou Port (BJCOO) in Littoral, Benin, covering the container and general cargo berths, RoRo berth, outer anchorage. Teams mobilise via Cotonou (COO) with the full spread.
Can UWILD be done while the vessel works cargo at Cotonou?
Yes, in most cases. The harbour is sheltered enough that divers work alongside while cargo operations continue, and neither holds the other up. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Cotonou and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.
Do you need a diving permit from Port Autonome de Cotonou?
Yes, and we obtain it. Diving permission from Port Autonome de Cotonou, 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 Cotonou?
Visibility at Cotonou Port is moderate, and it drops further around active bulk handling and after heavy rain, and the Atlantic swell and the rains 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 Cotonou?
Feeder container ships, RoRo and vehicle carriers, Handysize bulk carriers, General cargo ships — the traffic at Cotonou Port runs to containers, cotton, grain and agricultural bulk, 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 Cotonou?
Divers and equipment mobilise via Cotonou (COO). 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 Lomé or Tema, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.
What does UWILD at Cotonou cost?
It depends on the vessel's dimensions and wetted area, the fouling state found, the coating specification and the working window available at Cotonou. 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 Cotonou and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.
UWILD at Cotonou Port.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Cotonou and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.