Tema Port · GHTEM

Cargo Hold Cleaning (Shore Gang) at Tema Port

Holds ready for the next fixture before the vessel sails

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

Cleanship Marine puts shore gangs on board at Tema Port, Greater Accra, to clean cargo holds between fixtures — sweeping, washing, rinsing and drying to the standard the next cargo demands, worked at the container terminal berths, bulk and general cargo quays.

Tema discharges clinker and loads grain, which is the sequence that fails inspections: cement residue sets hard and a grain surveyor will not pass a hold carrying it. The berth clock means the honest plan is usually to start alongside and finish with a riding crew on the passage.

What it gets you

Holds presented to the standard the next fixture actually requires
Inspection failures and the resulting demurrage avoided
Residue and washings disposed of to MARPOL Annex V rather than left as the master's problem
Crew kept on their own work instead of on cleaning duty

Working conditions at Tema

Work here starts alongside, and where the berth window runs out it continues on the outward passage with a riding crew — the berth will not be held open for it. The Atlantic swell and the rains sets the outer limits of the calendar, with the heaviest rain from May to October and swell running year-round, and it affects the anchorage far more than the berth. Humidity is high year-round and the rains make it worse, which matters more than temperature for enclosed-space work: holds will not dry, and a hold that cannot be dried cannot be closed. Access approval runs through Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and the terminal, and the disposal route for residues and washings is fixed before the gang boards rather than found afterwards.

Where we work: Container terminal berths · Bulk and general cargo quays · Oil berth · Anchorage
Vessels we see here: Main-line and feeder container ships · Handysize bulk carriers · Product tankers · Fishing fleet and reefer vessels

What we do at Tema

Sweeping and removal of cargo residues, dunnage and lashing waste from tank tops, frames and brackets
Fresh or sea water washing with the correct chemical treatment for the residue found, followed by a fresh water rinse
Bilge wells, strum boxes, bilge lines and hold ladders cleaned and tested
Drying and ventilation so holds pass inspection rather than merely look clean
Residue and washing water handled to MARPOL Annex V requirements and the disposal rules in force at Tema
Hold-by-hold photographic record and a completion report ahead of the inspection

Planning the window at Tema

The Atlantic swell and the rains governs the calendar at Tema Port, with the heaviest rain from May to October and swell running year-round. For hold work the wind matters less than the rain: holds cannot be washed, dried and closed in wet weather, and a hold shut up damp fails inspection however clean it looks. Turnaround here is quick and the berth will not be held open for cleaning, so the work is either sequenced hold by hold behind the discharge as each one empties, or handed to a riding crew to complete on the passage out. Waiting for all holds to be empty is waiting past the berth window.

Teams mobilise via Accra (ACC), 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 Tema

Tema Port runs containers, clinker and cement, grain and agricultural bulk through the same holds, and that sequence is where the money is lost: mineral fines and dust from one fixture will fail an inspection for the next if the holds are only swept. The standard that matters is the one the next cargo demands, not the one the last one left.

What we usually find here is a partial job already attempted: crew sweeping between grabs, with the frames, brackets and tank-top margins untouched because there was never the time to reach them. Those are exactly the places an inspection looks.

Standard scope of work

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

Sweeping and residue removal: Full manual and mechanical sweep of tank tops, hoppers, brackets and frames, with residues bagged for landing ashore in line with MARPOL Annex V.
High-pressure washing: Fresh or sea water washing at working pressures suited to the coating condition, covering tank top, hopper plating, side frames, bulkheads and the underside of hatch covers.
Chemical treatment: Application of marine-approved, biodegradable degreasers and hold cleaners where previous cargoes have left oily, staining or odour-bearing residues.
Rinsing and drying: Fresh water rinse to remove salt and chemical traces, followed by forced drying and bilge drying so holds present dry, odour-free and free of loose scale.
Bilge wells and hatch coamings: Bilge wells cleaned, strainers cleared and non-return valves tested; coamings, drain channels and compression bars cleaned so hatch covers seal correctly.

Full Hold Cleaning Shore Gang service details

How we deliver it at Tema

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Tema. 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
Approvals and waste routing
Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority 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. The disposal route for residues and washings is fixed before the gang boards — MARPOL Annex V compliance is a documented chain, not an assurance. Where reception at Tema is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
3
Mobilisation to Tema
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Accra (ACC). Where a vessel is also calling at Takoradi, one mobilisation is normally sized to cover both.
4
Entry, sequencing and the work
Enclosed-space entry runs to the vessel's own permit system, with a fresh gas test before every entry and after every break. Gas testing, standby cover and continuous supervision run throughout, and progress is reported hold by hold rather than only at the end.
5
Report and handover
A completion report covering cargo hold cleaning is issued with before-and-after imagery, hold by hold and anything found that you should know about. The findings are discussed with the vessel rather than emailed and forgotten.

Tema Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: GHTEM
Port type: State Port
State: Greater Accra
Country: Ghana
Water body: Gulf of Guinea
Port authority: Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority
Main cargoes: Containers, Clinker and cement, Grain and agricultural bulk, Crude and refined products, General cargo, Fishing catch
Crew mobilisation: Accra (ACC)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Cargo Hold Cleaning at Tema

Do you provide cargo hold cleaning at Tema Port?

Yes. Cleanship Marine works Tema Port (GHTEM) in Greater Accra, Ghana, covering the container terminal berths, bulk and general cargo quays, oil berth, anchorage. Teams mobilise via Accra (ACC) with the full spread.

Can cargo hold cleaning be done while the vessel works cargo at Tema?

Partly. Holds are worked one at a time behind the discharge as each empties, but the berth will not be held for the remainder — so the realistic plan is to start alongside and finish with a riding crew on the passage out. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Tema and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.

How are hold washings and cargo residues disposed of at Tema?

To MARPOL Annex V, through the reception route agreed with Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and the terminal before the gang boards. Residues, sweepings and washing water are tracked from the hold to reception with documentation, so the vessel has a record rather than an assurance. Where reception capacity at Tema is limited, we change the plan rather than the paperwork.

Where is the work done at Tema — alongside, at anchorage or on passage?

Work here starts alongside, and where the berth window runs out it continues on the outward passage with a riding crew — the berth will not be held open for it. Between June and September the binding constraint is working temperature inside the space rather than access to it.

Which vessels do you carry out cargo hold cleaning on at Tema?

Main-line and feeder container ships, Handysize bulk carriers, Product tankers, Fishing fleet and reefer vessels — the traffic at Tema Port runs to containers, clinker and cement, 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 Tema?

Crews and equipment mobilise via Accra (ACC). 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 Takoradi or Lomé, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.

What does cargo hold cleaning at Tema cost?

It depends on the number of holds, the residue from the last cargo, the standard the next fixture demands and how much time the call at Tema actually gives. 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 Tema and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.

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