Littoral · BJCOO

Hold Cleaning at Cotonou Port

Holds ready for the next fixture at Cotonou Port — the transit gateway to the Sahel, and the queue that comes with it.

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

Cleanship Marine cleans cargo holds at Cotonou Port (BJCOO), Littoral — shore gangs alongside, riding crews on the passage out, and IRATA rope access teams for the upper hold. Cotonou loads cotton and agricultural bulk and discharges general cargo and fertiliser, so the standing brief is preparing holds for a food-grade or fibre cargo after a dirty inbound. Cotton in particular will reject a hold on odour and residue alone.

Working conditions at Cotonou

Most of the work at this port happens at the anchorage, simply because that is where vessels spend their time. 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 Port Autonome de Cotonou 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 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

Hold Cleaning scopes at Cotonou

3 scopes, one team and one mobilisation. Most vessels calling here take more than one on the same attendance.

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. 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. Waiting time is the opportunity here. Vessels sit at this port for extended periods, so holds can be worked properly and to a standard rather than rushed between grabs — and a gang put on board during the wait costs the vessel nothing in schedule.

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

Agricultural and fertiliser parcels dominate here, and they are the unforgiving residues: hygroscopic, corrosive to coatings if left damp, and an outright inspection failure ahead of a food-grade cargo. Holds shut up wet at Cotonou are holds that need doing twice.

The other thing that shows up here is time. Vessels wait, holds sit shut with residue still in them, and residue that sits gets harder to shift — the job found after a long wait at anchorage is not the job that would have been found on the day of discharge.

How we deliver it at Cotonou

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo 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
Approvals and waste routing
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. 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 Cotonou is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
3
Mobilisation to Cotonou
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Cotonou (COO). Where a vessel is also calling at Lomé, 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 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.

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 — Cotonou Port

Does Cleanship provide hold cleaning at Cotonou Port?

Yes. We cover the full hold cleaning scope at Cotonou Port (BJCOO), Littoral — cargo hold cleaning (shore gang), hold cleaning riding crew and rope access hold cleaning. Teams mobilise via Cotonou (COO).

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

Most of the work at this port happens at the anchorage, simply because that is where vessels spend their time. Between June and September the binding constraint is working temperature inside the space rather than access to it.

Who approves hold cleaning work at Cotonou?

Port Autonome de Cotonou issues the port-side approval at Cotonou Port, with terminal approval on top where the berth requires it. We arrange both, along with the waste reception and disposal route, so it does not fall to the agent or the master.

Which vessels call at Cotonou?

Feeder container ships, RoRo and vehicle carriers, Handysize bulk carriers, General cargo ships — Cotonou Port is the transit gateway to the Sahel, and the queue that comes with it, handling containers, cotton, grain and agricultural bulk, general cargo, vehicles and RoRo, fuel. What sizes a hold job is the number of holds, the last cargo and the standard the next fixture demands — not the vessel's dimensions.

Can this be done without taking the vessel off hire at Cotonou?

Yes — that is the point of it. Every scope listed here is carried out with the vessel afloat and working, at the berth, at the anchorage or on the passage out. Shore gangs work alongside or at anchorage and riding crews finish on the passage, so no port time is spent on cleaning and the vessel is never off hire.

Do you cover other ports near Cotonou?

Yes. Lomé and Tema all sit within the same operating range for hold cleaning, and a single mobilisation is often sized to cover more than one vessel on the same trip. We work 63 ports on the coverage list for this line.

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