Maritime Region · TGLFW

Hull Cleaning at Lomé Port

In-water hull, propeller and survey work 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 provides the full underwater scope at Lomé Port (TGLFW), Maritime Region — hull cleaning, propeller super polishing, bow and stern thruster work, class-approved in-water survey and UWILD. Every scope is carried out with the vessel afloat and on hire, at the berth or at the anchorage.

Lomé is the transhipment and bunkering hub of West Africa, the region's only naturally deep-water port and the reason main-line container tonnage calls this coast at all. The standing anchorage population makes it the West African equivalent of Fujairah: idle tonnage, in warm water, for days at a time.

Working conditions at Lomé

Lomé is the deepest natural harbour on the West African coast and it does not silt the way the lagoon and river ports along this shore do, so the working conditions here are the best in the region by a clear margin. Alongside work runs year-round. The bunkering anchorage off the port carries a standing population of tankers waiting for orders, which is where most of the in-water work actually happens — and where the Atlantic swell is the only real constraint.

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

Hull Cleaning scopes at Lomé

5 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. 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 container terminal berths, bunkering anchorage, general cargo and bulk berths, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. 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

Dry bulk handling here puts cargo dust into the water around the berths and anchorage. It settles on horizontal surfaces and packs into sea chest gratings and inlet openings, so inlet and grating clearance is routinely a larger part of the job at Lomé than owners budget for.

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.

How we deliver it at Lomé

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification 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
Permits and approvals
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. 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 Lomé
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Lomé (LFW). Where a vessel is also calling at Kpémé, 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 hull cleaning 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.

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 hull cleaning at Lomé Port?

Yes. We cover the full hull cleaning scope at Lomé Port (TGLFW), Maritime Region — underwater hull cleaning, propeller polishing, thruster cleaning & polishing, in-water class survey and UWILD. Teams mobilise via Lomé (LFW).

What is underwater visibility like at Lomé?

Visibility at Lomé Port is moderate, and it drops further around active bulk handling and after heavy rain, and the Atlantic swell and the rains 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.

Who approves hull 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 any environmental clearance for in-water cleaning, 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. Wetted area, coating specification and how long the vessel has been sitting are what size a hull job, so the same berth can produce very different attendances.

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. Divers work with the vessel afloat at the berth or the anchorage, so there is no dry dock, no diversion and no off-hire.

Do you cover other ports near Lomé?

Yes. Kpémé, Cotonou and Tema all sit within the same operating range for hull cleaning, and a single mobilisation is often sized to cover more than one vessel on the same trip. We work 65 ports on the coverage list for this line.

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