Lion Terminal

UWILD at Lion 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 Lion Terminal, Abidjan, 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.

The tankers that discharge at Lion Terminal are large crude carriers, and UWILD rules for tankers — particularly older ones under the enhanced survey programme — are narrower than for most ships. So a UWILD enquiry here starts with the vessel's age, class and survey history. Where she is eligible, the inspection can be done at the anchorage off Port-Bouët during the wait for the mooring slot, saving a long deviation to a dock that could take a ship of her size.

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 Lion

Lion Terminal is a single point mooring in open sea about 1.2 nautical miles off the Port-Bouët lighthouse, so there is no shelter at all: a tanker on the buoy, or waiting for it, takes the full Atlantic swell running onto this coast. Mooring is in daylight only, and pilots board at a temporary anchorage a few miles off the Vridi Canal entrance. No in-water work is done at the buoy or while a tanker is connected; it happens at that anchorage, before or after.

Where we work: Temporary anchorage off the Vridi Canal entrance · Sea area outside the SPM safety zone
Vessels we see here: Crude tankers of 80,000 to 250,000 dwt · Mooring and support craft

What we do at Lion

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 Lion
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 d'Abidjan, with the vessel secured and machinery immobilised
Complete report package submitted for the class file and the drydocking credit

Planning the window at Lion

The combination of Atlantic swell and rain governs the calendar at Lion 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. The buoy itself is off limits, so hull work is done with the tanker at the temporary anchorage off the Vridi Canal entrance, before she is moored or after she is released; the dive plan is built around the daylight mooring schedule and the swell.

Work is taken at the temporary anchorage off the Vridi Canal entrance and sea area outside the SPM safety zone, 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 Lion

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.

The large crude tankers that discharge at Lion Terminal often wait at the anchorage for their daylight mooring slot, and waiting in warm Gulf of Guinea water is what adds growth fastest. Because they arrive laden and leave light, the hull they present at the anchorage before discharge is at its deepest — the full wetted area is underwater.

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 Lion

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Lion. 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 Lion Terminal is the terminal operator's decision as much as Port Autonome d'Abidjan'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 Lion
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ). Where a vessel is also calling at Vridi, 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.

Lion Terminal at a glance

Port type: Private Port
State: Abidjan
Country: Côte d'Ivoire
Water body: Gulf of Guinea, off Port-Bouët
Port authority: Port Autonome d'Abidjan
Main cargoes: Crude oil
Crew mobilisation: Abidjan (ABJ)
Services here: Hull Cleaning

Frequently asked — UWILD Inspection at Lion

Do you provide UWILD at Lion Terminal?

Yes. Cleanship Marine works Lion Terminal in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, covering the temporary anchorage off the Vridi Canal entrance and sea area outside the SPM safety zone. Teams mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ) with the full spread.

Is UWILD possible for a large crude tanker at Lion Terminal?

It can be, if she is eligible — and for large and older tankers eligibility needs careful checking with class. If she qualifies, the inspection is done at the anchorage off Port-Bouët during the wait for the mooring slot, never while she is connected to the buoy.

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

No — nothing is done while a tanker is connected to the buoy. Hull work is done at the temporary anchorage off the Vridi Canal entrance, typically while she waits for her daylight mooring slot, or after she is released. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Lion 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 Lion?

Visibility at Lion Terminal is good by the standards of this coast — it is open sea water, clearer than the lagoon inside the Vridi Canal — so the swell rather than visibility decides when a diver can work, 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 Lion?

Crude tankers of 80,000 to 250,000 dwt, Mooring and support craft — the traffic at Lion 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 Lion?

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 Vridi or Abidjan, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.

What does UWILD at Lion cost?

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

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