Maritime Region · TGLFW

Tank Cleaning at Lomé Port

Grade changes, sludge removal and shore tanks 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, bunker and shore tanks at Lomé Port (TGLFW), Maritime Region — grade changes on product and chemical tankers, sludge demucking, terminal storage tanks and offshore support vessel turnarounds. Lomé is a bunkering port, so most of the tank work here is fuel, slop and bunker tank cleaning on tankers and barges waiting at the anchorage rather than cargo grade changes. Slop reception is arranged through the port before the tanks are opened — capacity on this coast is limited and it is what sets the date.

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. Approval runs through Port Autonome de Lomé and the terminal operator, and licensed slop reception is booked before the tanks are opened — at most ports on this list that booking, not the cleaning, is what sets the date.

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

Tank Cleaning scopes at Lomé

4 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 tank work it is the anchorage that suffers — where the terminal will not permit work alongside, weather that closes the anchorage closes the job. Whether the work runs alongside, at anchorage or on passage depends on the terminal and the grade, so the plan is built against the actual call. Where a terminal will not permit tank work at the berth, we say so at quoting stage rather than after mobilisation.

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

Product parcels and bunkers dominate the liquid traffic here, so most of the work is grade changes and fuel and slop tank cleaning rather than full chemical specification work.

What we find depends on whether the vessel has had time at anchorage or come straight off a berth, so the tank condition is confirmed on inspection rather than assumed from the previous cargo alone.

How we deliver it at Lomé

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the prior and next grade 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, slops and certification
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. Licensed slop and sludge reception is booked and marine chemist attendance arranged where the grade change requires it. At Lomé the disposal route is the item that most often sets the schedule, so it is fixed first.
3
Mobilisation to Lomé
Crews, pumps, machines and chemicals mobilise via Lomé (LFW). Where a vessel is also calling at Kpémé, one mobilisation is normally sized to cover both.
4
Gas-freeing, entry and cleaning
Atmosphere testing, gas-freeing and enclosed-space entry certification come before any entry, and are repeated after every break. Standby cover and atmosphere monitoring run continuously while anyone is inside, and progress is reported tank by tank.
5
Report and handover
A completion report covering tank cleaning is issued with before-and-after imagery, tank by tank 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 tank cleaning at Lomé Port?

Yes. We cover the full tank cleaning scope at Lomé Port (TGLFW), Maritime Region — tanker tank cleaning — DPP & CPP, tank demucking, shore tank cleaning and offshore vessel tank 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 tank 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 tank job is the tank count, the prior and next grade and how much sludge is carried, 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. Tank work runs alongside where the terminal permits it, and otherwise at anchorage or on the passage out — none of which takes the vessel off hire.

Do you cover other ports near Lomé?

Yes. Tema all sit within the same operating range for tank cleaning, and a single mobilisation is often sized to cover more than one vessel on the same trip. We work 32 ports on the coverage list for this line.

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