Vridi Oil Terminals · CIPBT

UWILD at Vridi Oil Terminals

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 Vridi Oil Terminals, 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. 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 tankers serving Vridi are the fuel supply for Côte d'Ivoire and its landlocked neighbours, and taking one out of service for a docking leaves a gap in that supply. UWILD lets an eligible tanker earn the survey credit without leaving the trade. Tanker eligibility is narrower than for most ships, especially for older vessels, so it is checked with class first; the inspection itself is done at the anchorage outside the canal.

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 Vridi

The Vridi Canal is a straight cut 2.7 kilometres long, 370 metres wide and about 13.5 metres deep, opened in 1950 to join the sea to the Ébrié Lagoon, and the oil terminals line its banks. That puts the tanker berths in a narrow, busy channel with a current running through it as the lagoon exchanges water with the sea, rather than in a quiet basin. In-water work at these berths is therefore timed around the current and the canal traffic, and always agreed with the terminal, because every one of them is a hazardous-cargo berth.

Where we work: Oil berths along the Vridi Canal · Petroci and SIAP tanker berths · Anchorage off the canal entrance
Vessels we see here: Product tankers · Bitumen tankers · LPG carriers · Bunker barges

What we do at Vridi

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 Vridi
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 Vridi

The combination of Atlantic swell and rain governs the calendar at Vridi Oil Terminals, 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 oil berths along the Vridi Canal, Petroci and SIAP tanker berths, anchorage off the canal entrance, 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 Vridi

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.

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 Vridi

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

Vridi Oil Terminals at a glance

UN/LOCODE: CIPBT
Port type: State Port
State: Abidjan
Country: Côte d'Ivoire
Water body: Vridi Canal and the Ébrié Lagoon
Port authority: Port Autonome d'Abidjan
Main cargoes: Crude oil and refined products, Bitumen, LPG
Crew mobilisation: Abidjan (ABJ)
Services here: Hull Cleaning

Frequently asked — UWILD Inspection at Vridi

Do you provide UWILD at Vridi Oil Terminals?

Yes. Cleanship Marine works Vridi Oil Terminals (CIPBT) in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, covering the oil berths along the Vridi Canal, Petroci and SIAP tanker berths, anchorage off the canal entrance. Teams mobilise via Abidjan (ABJ) with the full spread.

Is UWILD possible for a product tanker trading to Vridi?

It can be, but tanker eligibility is narrower than for other ships, especially older ones, so we check it with the class society first. If she qualifies, the inspection is done at the anchorage off the Vridi Canal, where the water is clearer and there are no berth restrictions.

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

Only with the terminal's agreement, because every berth on the Vridi Canal is a hazardous-cargo berth. Where the terminal permits it, work is done alongside at slack water in the canal; where it does not, the vessel is cleaned at the anchorage off the canal entrance before or after her berth. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Vridi 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 Vridi?

Visibility at Vridi Oil Terminals is low to moderate — the canal carries lagoon water out to sea and sea water in, and the brackish, sediment-laden lagoon side is much cloudier than the open sea outside, 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 Vridi?

Product tankers, Bitumen tankers, LPG carriers and Bunker barges — the traffic at Vridi Oil Terminals runs to crude oil and refined products, bitumen, LPG, 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 Vridi?

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

What does UWILD at Vridi cost?

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

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