Greater Accra · GHTEM

Hull Cleaning at Tema Port

In-water hull, propeller and survey work at Tema Port — Ghana's main container gateway on a tight berth clock.

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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 Tema Port (GHTEM), Greater Accra — 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.

Tema is Ghana's principal container port and the gateway for Accra and the interior, working clinker, grain and refined products alongside the box traffic. Liner tonnage on fixed rotations makes it a port where in-water work is a planned maintenance item.

Working conditions at Tema

Tema is a large artificial harbour serving Accra, well sheltered and with a modern container terminal that runs to tight productivity targets — the berth will not be held for anything. Work here is either sequenced behind cargo operations or taken at the anchorage. The harbour water is warm and turbid with moderate to low visibility, and fouling returns quickly.

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

Hull Cleaning scopes at Tema

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

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. 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, bulk and general cargo quays, oil berth, anchorage, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. 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

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 Tema 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 Tema

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification 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
Permits and approvals
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. 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 Tema
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Accra (ACC). Where a vessel is also calling at Takoradi, 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.

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 — Tema Port

Does Cleanship provide hull cleaning at Tema Port?

Yes. We cover the full hull cleaning scope at Tema Port (GHTEM), Greater Accra — underwater hull cleaning, propeller polishing, thruster cleaning & polishing, in-water class survey and UWILD. Teams mobilise via Accra (ACC).

What is underwater visibility like at Tema?

Visibility at Tema 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 Tema?

Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority issues the port-side approval at Tema 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 Tema?

Main-line and feeder container ships, Handysize bulk carriers, Product tankers, Fishing fleet and reefer vessels — Tema Port is Ghana's main container gateway on a tight berth clock, handling containers, clinker and cement, grain and agricultural bulk, crude and refined products, general cargo, fishing catch. 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 Tema?

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 Tema?

Yes. Takoradi, Lomé and Cotonou 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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