Pepel Port · SLPEP

Rope Access Hold Cleaning at Pepel Port

The upper hold reached without staging

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

Cleanship Marine provides IRATA rope access teams at Pepel Port, Port Loko, to clean, inspect and treat the upper areas of cargo holds — hatch coamings, upper frames, transverse bulkheads and the underside of hatch covers — without staging or cherry pickers.

The top third of a cargo hold is where staging costs, schedule and risk all concentrate, and it is the part a deck-level gang cannot reach properly. Rope access removes the scaffolding from the equation entirely. At Pepel it also fits the schedule: the upper hold can be worked from ropes while the lower hold is still discharging, so the two do not queue behind each other.

Iron ore dust settles on the high frames, hatch coamings and the underside of the hatch covers, where a surveyor looks first. Rope access lets our team clean those areas without staging, which matters on a ship whose holds are deep and whose time in port is short.

What it gets you

Upper hold areas actually reached and cleaned, not just the parts a gang can stand on
No staging cost, no cherry picker and no lost days erecting and striking it
Structural condition at height inspected while the technicians are already there
Fewer people working at height, under a written plan with a rescue capability

Working conditions at Pepel

Most of the work at this port happens at the anchorage, simply because that is where vessels spend their time. The combination of Atlantic swell and rain 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 Sierra Leone Ports Authority and the mine operator and the terminal, and the disposal route for residues and washings is fixed before the gang boards rather than found afterwards.

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

What we do at Pepel

IRATA-certified technicians working to a written rope access plan with a rescue plan in place
Hatch coamings, upper frames, transverse bulkheads and hatch cover undersides cleaned
Spot blasting, rust removal and touch-up coating at height where the scope calls for it
Close visual inspection of upper structure, reported with photographs at position
Work planned around the discharge sequence and the working rules in force at Pepel
Completion report with before-and-after imagery by hold and by area

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. 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 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

The standing residues at Pepel Port are iron ore — the dusty, abrasive kind that films every surface and packs into frames, brackets and the tank-top margins. Anything following into a clean or food-grade cargo needs the full sequence: sweep, wash, rinse and dry, not a hose down.

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.

Standard scope of work

Included as standard on every rope access hold cleaning attendance, wherever the vessel is. Anything outside it is quoted separately and flagged before mobilisation, never added afterwards.

Upper frame and bulkhead cleaning: Washing and residue removal on upper side frames, brackets, stiffeners and transverse bulkheads that deck-level equipment cannot reach.
Hold overhead and hatch underside: Cleaning of the hold overhead, hatch cover undersides and coaming internals, where cargo dust and previous-cargo residue routinely accumulate.
Close-up visual inspection: Structural condition, coating breakdown and corrosion recorded at height with photographs, giving you inspection-quality data as a by-product of the clean.
Spot preparation and coating: Localised descaling, surface preparation and touch-up coating applied at height, so identified breakdown is treated in the same mobilisation.
Rigging, rescue and supervision: Every work site is rigged with independent working and backup lines under a Level 3 supervisor, with a documented rescue plan in place before the first descent.

Full Hold Cleaning Rope Access service details

How we deliver it at Pepel

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

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 — Rope Access Hold Cleaning at Pepel

Do you provide rope access hold cleaning at Pepel Port?

Yes. Cleanship Marine works Pepel Port (SLPEP) in Port Loko, Sierra Leone, covering the ore loading berth and Pepel anchorage. Teams mobilise via Freetown Lungi (FNA) with the full spread.

Why clean the upper hold with rope access after iron ore?

Ore dust settles on the upper frames and hatch coamings that surveyors check first. Rope access reaches them without staging, so the job fits the port call.

Can rope access hold cleaning be done while the vessel works cargo at Pepel?

Yes, and the better answer here is usually to start before discharge finishes. Vessels wait at this port, so a gang boards during the wait and works the holds as they empty — no port time is lost, because the vessel was not sailing anyway. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Pepel and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.

How are hold washings and cargo residues disposed of at Pepel?

To MARPOL Annex V, through the reception route agreed with Sierra Leone Ports Authority and the mine operator and the terminal before the gang boards. Residues, sweepings and washing water are tracked from the hold to reception with documentation, so the vessel has a record rather than an assurance. Where reception capacity at Pepel is limited, we change the plan rather than the paperwork.

Where is the work done at Pepel — 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.

Which vessels do you carry out rope access hold cleaning on at Pepel?

Handysize to Panamax bulk carriers, Barges and tugs — the traffic at Pepel Port runs to iron ore, so those are the profiles we see most. The scope is sized to the vessel, not to a standard package.

How quickly can a team mobilise to Pepel?

Crews and equipment mobilise via Freetown Lungi (FNA). Give us the ETA and the window and we will confirm what is achievable rather than promise a date we cannot hold. Where the vessel also calls at Freetown or Conakry, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.

What does rope access hold cleaning at Pepel cost?

It depends on the number of holds, the residue from the last cargo, the standard the next fixture demands and how much time the call at Pepel actually gives. We would rather scope it properly and give you a specific figure than quote a headline rate that changes once the work starts. Send the details and the window at Pepel and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.

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