Maritime Region · TGLFW

Hold Cleaning at Lomé Port

Holds ready for the next fixture at Lomé Port — West Africa's only natural deep-water transhipment hub.

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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 Lomé Port (TGLFW), Maritime Region — shore gangs alongside, riding crews on the passage out, and IRATA rope access teams for the upper hold. Lomé's hold work splits between clinker and agricultural bulk on the regional tonnage and cell guides, bilges and tank tops on the transhipment container ships. Clinker is the one that sets — a hold washed late after a cement cargo needs mechanical removal rather than a hose.

Working conditions at Lomé

Work here runs both alongside and at anchorage depending on the call, and on the passage out where neither gives enough 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 Lomé 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 · Bunkering anchorage · General cargo and bulk berths
Vessels we see here: Main-line and feeder container ships · Bunker tankers and barges · Handysize bulk carriers · General cargo ships

Hold Cleaning scopes at Lomé

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

Planning the window at Lomé

The Atlantic swell and the rains governs the calendar at Lomé 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. Some vessels sit and some turn straight round, so the plan is agreed against the actual call rather than a standard package: a shore gang alongside where there is time, a riding crew on the outward passage where there is not.

Teams mobilise via Lomé (LFW), 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 Lomé

Lomé Port runs containers and transhipment, bunkers, clinker and cement 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.

The condition we find here varies more than at most ports, because some vessels have had days at anchor to work the holds and some have had none. The scope is confirmed on boarding rather than assumed from the fixture.

How we deliver it at Lomé

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

Lomé Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: TGLFW
Port type: State Port
State: Maritime Region
Country: Togo
Water body: Gulf of Guinea
Port authority: Port Autonome de Lomé
Main cargoes: Containers and transhipment, Bunkers, Clinker and cement, General cargo, Cotton and agricultural bulk
Crew mobilisation: Lomé (LFW)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Lomé Port

Does Cleanship provide hold cleaning at Lomé Port?

Yes. We cover the full hold cleaning scope at Lomé Port (TGLFW), Maritime Region — cargo hold cleaning (shore gang), hold cleaning riding crew and rope access hold cleaning. Teams mobilise via Lomé (LFW).

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

Work here runs both alongside and at anchorage depending on the call, and on the passage out where neither gives enough 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 Lomé?

Port Autonome de Lomé issues the port-side approval at Lomé 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 Lomé?

Main-line and feeder container ships, Bunker tankers and barges, Handysize bulk carriers, General cargo ships — Lomé Port is West Africa's only natural deep-water transhipment hub, handling containers and transhipment, bunkers, clinker and cement, general cargo, cotton and agricultural bulk. 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 Lomé?

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 Lomé?

Yes. Cotonou 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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