Port Loko · SLPEP

Hull Cleaning at Pepel Port

In-water hull, propeller and survey work at Pepel Port — iron ore loading on the Sierra Leone River.

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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 Pepel Port (SLPEP), Port Loko — 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.

Pepel is Sierra Leone's iron ore export port, built to ship ore railed down from Marampa. Shipments depend on the mines' production, so traffic comes in campaigns rather than as a steady flow, and bulk carriers can wait at anchor for a loading slot. Iron ore is the cargo, and its fines are the residue the next charterer will check for.

Working conditions at Pepel

Pepel is about 24 kilometres up the Sierra Leone River from Freetown, at the end of the 84-kilometre railway from the Marampa iron ore mine. The river is tidal and carries silt, so visibility is low and dives are timed to the tide, and the anchorage depth of around 9 to 10 metres limits the draft of ships that can work here. The rainy season from about May to October adds heavy run-off.

Where we work: Ore loading berth · Pepel anchorage
Vessels we see here: Handysize to Panamax bulk carriers · Barges and tugs

Hull Cleaning scopes at Pepel

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

Planning the window at Pepel

The combination of Atlantic swell and rain governs the calendar at Pepel 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. The tidal stream and the silt load govern the method here: the working window is slack water, not the working day, and the operation is planned by feel and surface supervision with video kept as the record rather than as the diver's means of navigation.

Work is taken at the ore loading berth and Pepel anchorage, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. Teams mobilise via Freetown Lungi (FNA), 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 Pepel

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 Pepel than owners budget for.

Bulk carriers at Pepel often wait at anchor for a loading slot in warm, silty river water. Growth builds on the flat bottom during the wait, and the sea chests take in silt as well as marine growth.

How we deliver it at Pepel

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Pepel. 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
Access at Pepel Port is the terminal operator's decision as much as Sierra Leone Ports Authority and the mine operator's, so both are in the approval chain from the start — a berth-side refusal discovered at the gangway costs the whole attendance. 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 Pepel
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Freetown Lungi (FNA). Where a vessel is also calling at Freetown, 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.

Pepel Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: SLPEP
Port type: Private Port
State: Port Loko
Country: Sierra Leone
Water body: Sierra Leone River estuary
Port authority: Sierra Leone Ports Authority and the mine operator
Main cargoes: Iron ore
Crew mobilisation: Freetown Lungi (FNA)
Services here: Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning

Frequently asked — Pepel Port

Does Cleanship provide hull cleaning at Pepel Port?

Yes. We cover the full hull cleaning scope at Pepel Port (SLPEP), Port Loko — underwater hull cleaning, propeller polishing, thruster cleaning & polishing, in-water class survey and UWILD. Teams mobilise via Freetown Lungi (FNA).

What is underwater visibility like at Pepel?

Visibility at Pepel Port is low — the Sierra Leone River is tidal and silty, and worst in the rainy season, 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.

Who approves hull cleaning work at Pepel?

Sierra Leone Ports Authority and the mine operator issues the port-side approval at Pepel 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 Pepel?

Handysize to Panamax bulk carriers, Barges and tugs — Pepel Port is iron ore loading on the Sierra Leone River, handling iron ore. 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 Pepel?

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 Pepel?

Yes. Freetown, Conakry and Monrovia 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 86 ports on the coverage list for this line.

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