Sal Rei Port · CVSAR

UWILD at Sal Rei 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 Sal Rei Port, Boa Vista, 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.

The coasters serving Boa Vista are often small, older vessels, and UWILD eligibility depends heavily on age, type and class notation. So a UWILD enquiry here starts with those questions rather than with a date. Where a vessel qualifies, doing the inspection at the anchorage off Sal Rei keeps her on the island run instead of sailing off to find a dock, and the sheltered water behind the breakwater gives a steady platform for the dive.

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 Sal Rei

Sal Rei's wharf, built in 2015, is 160 metres long with a minimum depth of 7 metres and is protected by a 930-metre breakwater, so the berth itself is sheltered. Outside it, Boa Vista is a low, sandy island ringed by shoals and reefs — its coast is known for its shipwrecks — and the sand the trade wind carries off the island clouds the shallow water near the shore. Vessels that are too big for the wharf lie at anchor off the town.

Where we work: 160-metre wharf behind the breakwater · Anchorage off Sal Rei
Vessels we see here: General cargo and container coasters · Inter-island ferries · Fishing vessels

What we do at Sal Rei

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 Sal Rei
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 ENAPOR – Portos de Cabo Verde, with the vessel secured and machinery immobilised
Complete report package submitted for the class file and the drydocking credit

Planning the window at Sal Rei

The trade-wind and swell season governs the calendar at Sal Rei Port, with the strongest trade winds from roughly December to May, and a short rainy season from August to October. The islands sit in open ocean, so a port's exposure depends on which side of its island it faces: the lee-side harbours stay calm while the trade wind blows, but long-period swell from North Atlantic storms reaches the north and west coasts in winter, and the late-summer tropical waves that pass through here can turn into storms. 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 160-metre wharf behind the breakwater and anchorage off Sal Rei, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. Teams mobilise via Boa Vista (BVC), 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 Sal Rei

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.

Full UWILD service details

How we deliver it at Sal Rei

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Sal Rei. 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
ENAPOR – Portos de Cabo Verde 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 Sal Rei
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Boa Vista (BVC). Where a vessel is also calling at Palmeira, 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.

Sal Rei Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: CVSAR
Port type: State Port
Island: Boa Vista
Country: Cape Verde
Water body: Atlantic Ocean, behind the Ilhéu de Sal Rei
Port authority: ENAPOR – Portos de Cabo Verde
Main cargoes: Construction materials, Containers, General cargo, Food and supplies
Crew mobilisation: Boa Vista (BVC)
Services here: Hull Cleaning

Frequently asked — UWILD Inspection at Sal Rei

Do you provide UWILD at Sal Rei Port?

Yes. Cleanship Marine works Sal Rei Port (CVSAR) in Boa Vista, Cape Verde, covering the 160-metre wharf behind the breakwater and anchorage off Sal Rei. Teams mobilise via Boa Vista (BVC) with the full spread.

Can a small coaster do UWILD at Sal Rei?

It can if she is eligible, and for small, older coasters that is the first thing to check. We confirm eligibility with the class society before anything is booked. If she qualifies, the inspection is done at anchor off Sal Rei or at the wharf, depending on the berth schedule.

Can UWILD be done while the vessel works cargo at Sal Rei?

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 Sal Rei and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.

Do you need a diving permit from ENAPOR – Portos de Cabo Verde?

Yes, and we obtain it. Diving permission from ENAPOR – Portos de Cabo Verde, 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 Sal Rei?

Visibility at Sal Rei Port is good in deeper water but reduced near the shore, where sand blown and washed off the island hangs in the shallows, and the trade-wind and swell season 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 Sal Rei?

General cargo and container coasters, Inter-island ferries, Fishing vessels — the traffic at Sal Rei Port runs to construction materials, containers and general cargo, 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 Sal Rei?

Divers and equipment mobilise via Boa Vista (BVC). 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 Palmeira or Praia, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.

What does UWILD at Sal Rei cost?

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

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