Tank Demucking at Tema Port
Sludge out, capacity back
Get a quote
Tell us the vessel, the port and the window. Scoped reply, usually the same working day.
Cleanship Marine removes accumulated sludge, scale and sediment from cargo and bunker tanks at Tema Port, Greater Accra — the manual, enclosed-space work that washing alone will not do.
Sludge is a slow loss: it takes cargo capacity, it fouls heating coils and suctions, and it turns every subsequent tank clean into a longer job. Disposal is the part that actually governs the schedule here — the muck has to go somewhere licensed, and that is arranged before the tanks are opened.
What it gets you
- Cargo and bunker capacity recovered rather than carried as dead weight
- Heating coils and suctions cleared, restoring discharge performance
- Disposal documented through licensed reception
- Tank structure inspected while it is open and empty
Working conditions at Tema
Work here starts alongside, and where the berth window runs out it continues on the outward passage with a riding crew — the berth will not be held open for it. 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 Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority 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 · 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
What we do at Tema
- Atmosphere testing, gas-freeing and enclosed-space entry certification before entry
- Manual removal of sludge, scale and sediment from tank bottoms, frames and structure
- Heating coils, suction wells and bell mouths cleared and confirmed
- Material bagged, transferred and tracked from tank to reception
- Disposal through licensed reception facilities at Tema with the paperwork to prove it
- Tank condition photographed and reported, including anything found under the sludge
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. 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. Terminal windows here are tight and most operators will not permit tank work alongside, so the realistic plan is the anchorage or the outward passage. That is agreed before the vessel arrives, not argued at the berth.
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
Crude parcels here mean sludge, not just residue. The volume that comes out of a crude tank is a disposal problem as much as a cleaning one, so slop reception and licensed disposal are arranged before the work starts rather than discovered after it.
Tanks here are usually presented with a machine wash already done and the hand work outstanding — bottom structure, suction wells, heating coils and the areas the machines cannot reach. That remainder is what a wall wash actually fails on.
Standard scope of work
Included as standard on every tank demucking attendance, wherever the vessel is. Anything outside it is quoted separately and flagged before mobilisation, never added afterwards.
- Tank entry preparation
- Ventilation, gas testing, lighting, access rigging and rescue arrangements are established before any entry is authorised.
- Manual residue removal
- Sludge, wax and scale are removed by hand from tank bottoms, suction wells, bellmouths, heating coils and structural pockets.
- Vacuum and pump-out
- Pumpable residues are recovered by vacuum unit or portable pump directly to slop tanks, road tankers or barges.
- Scale and hard deposit removal
- Adhered rust scale and hardened deposits are removed by scraping, chipping or hydroblasting where the coating system permits.
- Waste handling and documentation
- Recovered material is quantified, transferred to licensed reception facilities and documented with manifests for the vessel's MARPOL records.
How we deliver it at Tema
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the prior and next grade 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
Approvals, slops and certification
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. Licensed slop and sludge reception is booked and marine chemist attendance arranged where the grade change requires it. At Tema the disposal route is the item that most often sets the schedule, so it is fixed first.
- 3
Mobilisation to Tema
Crews, pumps, machines and chemicals mobilise via Accra (ACC). Where a vessel is also calling at Takoradi, 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 demucking 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.
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 — Tank Demucking at Tema
Do you provide tank demucking at Tema Port?
Yes. Cleanship Marine works Tema Port (GHTEM) in Greater Accra, Ghana, covering the container terminal berths, bulk and general cargo quays, oil berth, anchorage. Teams mobilise via Accra (ACC) with the full spread.
Can tank demucking be done while the vessel works cargo at Tema?
Most terminals here will not permit tank work alongside, so the plan is the anchorage or the outward passage. We confirm the terminal's position before quoting rather than discovering it at the gangway. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Tema and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.
How is slop and sludge disposal handled at Tema?
Through licensed reception, booked with Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and the terminal operator before the tanks are opened. At Tema the disposal route is usually what sets the schedule, so it is fixed first and documented tank by tank. Gas-freeing, atmosphere testing and enclosed-space entry certification are part of the same scope.
Where is the work done at Tema — alongside, at anchorage or on passage?
Work here starts alongside, and where the berth window runs out it continues on the outward passage with a riding crew — the berth will not be held open for it. Between June and September the binding constraint is working temperature inside the space rather than access to it.
Which vessels do you carry out tank demucking on at Tema?
Main-line and feeder container ships, Handysize bulk carriers, Product tankers, Fishing fleet and reefer vessels — the traffic at Tema Port runs to containers, clinker and cement, grain and agricultural bulk, 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 Tema?
Crews and equipment mobilise via Accra (ACC). 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 Lomé, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.
What does tank demucking at Tema cost?
It depends on the tank count and volume, the prior and next grade, how much sludge is in there and whether the work runs alongside, at anchorage or on passage from Tema. 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 Tema and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.
Tank Demucking at Tema Port.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Tema and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.