Jamestown Fishing Port, Accra

UWILD at Jamestown Fishing Port, Accra

Survey credit earned without leaving the water

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

Cleanship Marine runs full UWILD programmes — Underwater Inspection In Lieu of Drydocking — at Jamestown Fishing Port, Accra, Greater Accra, from eligibility discussion through class liaison to the final report package.

UWILD lets a vessel satisfy a survey requirement that would otherwise mean a dry docking, at a fraction of the cost and with none of the off-hire. The requirements are exacting: the contractor must hold class approval, the vessel must be eligible, hull markings must let the surveyor locate features precisely, and the inspection has to be delivered live and documented. Shelter is on your side here — the vessel is stable and the dive is uninterrupted — but basin silt means the lighting and camera plan has to be agreed with the surveyor before the class attendance is booked, not improvised on the day.

UWILD applies to classed vessels that are eligible under their class rules, and very few of the boats at Jamestown fall into that group. For the classed vessels that work the Accra coast, the right place for UWILD is Tema, where there is space, a surveyor on hand and a shipyard close by if the inspection finds something. We will say plainly if a vessel should go there instead.

What it gets you

Drydocking deferred and the survey credit earned in the water
Class liaison handled end to end rather than left with the superintendent
Eligibility confirmed before cost is committed, not discovered afterwards
A documented inspection record that stands up to class review

Working conditions at Accra

Jamestown Fishing Port was built with a new breakwater, dredged basin, berths and navigation aids, turning what had been an exposed beach landing below the old Jamestown lighthouse into a sheltered harbour. Inside the breakwater the water is calm enough to work in most conditions; outside it, the Atlantic swell runs onto the Accra shoreline year-round. The basin is shallow by commercial standards, built for fishing craft rather than cargo ships.

Where we work: Jamestown harbour basin · Berths inside the breakwater · The repair workshop slipway area
Vessels we see here: Inshore fishing vessels · Semi-industrial fishing boats · Motorised fishing canoes

What we do at Accra

Eligibility review against the vessel's age, type, class notation and survey history before anything is booked
Programme agreed with the class society and the surveyor attending at Accra
Hull, rudder, propeller, stern gear, sea chests and appendages inspected to the UWILD scope
Live video, thickness measurement and clearance readings where the programme calls for them
Diving permission cleared with Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, with the vessel secured and machinery immobilised
Complete report package submitted for the class file and the drydocking credit

Planning the window at Accra

The combination of Atlantic swell and rain governs the calendar at Jamestown Fishing Port, Accra, 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 Jamestown harbour basin, berths inside the breakwater and the repair workshop slipway area, 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 Accra

The working fleet here spends most of its life at low speed in warm water, so growth is heavy, mixed and reaches the hard calcareous stage sooner than on deep-sea tonnage. Left too long it starts damaging the coating rather than just slowing the vessel.

The vessels at Jamestown are inshore and semi-industrial fishing boats that spend long days slow or stationary on the grounds and then lie alongside between trips, so growth is heavy and mixed, and rope and netting around the propeller are as common as the fouling.

Standard scope of work

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

Eligibility and planning: Vessel eligibility, survey scope and the society's specific requirements are established and agreed before mobilisation.
Hull preparation: Reference markings and cleaning of inspection areas so structure and features can be located and viewed unambiguously.
Systematic inspection: Shell plating, welds, rudder, propeller, sea chests, openings, anodes and appendages inspected to the agreed programme.
Measurement and NDT: Clearance measurement and underwater NDT carried out where the survey scope requires it.
Documentation: Video, stills, measurements and findings compiled into a report package suitable for submission to the classification society.

Full UWILD service details

How we deliver it at Accra

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

Jamestown Fishing Port, Accra at a glance

Port type: State Port
State: Greater Accra
Country: Ghana
Water body: Gulf of Guinea
Port authority: Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority
Main cargoes: Fishing catch
Crew mobilisation: Accra (ACC)
Services here: Hull Cleaning

Frequently asked — UWILD Inspection at Accra

Do you provide UWILD at Jamestown Fishing Port, Accra?

Yes. Cleanship Marine works Jamestown Fishing Port, Accra in Greater Accra, Ghana, covering the Jamestown harbour basin, berths inside the breakwater and the repair workshop slipway area. Teams mobilise via Accra (ACC) with the full spread.

Can UWILD be done at Jamestown, Accra?

For the few eligible classed vessels using the harbour it is possible, but Tema — nearby, with a larger basin and a shipyard — is usually the better place. We will recommend the right location for your vessel.

Can UWILD be done while the vessel works cargo at Accra?

Between fishing trips, alongside in the sheltered basin. The harbour is a working fishing port, so the job is planned around landing times and berth space. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Accra and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.

Do you need a diving permit from Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority?

Yes, and we obtain it. Diving permission from Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, terminal approval where the berth requires it, and any environmental clearance for in-water work are arranged as part of the job rather than left with the agent. The master's permit to work and the immobilisation of machinery are agreed on board before anyone enters the water.

What is underwater visibility like at Accra?

Visibility at Jamestown Fishing Port, Accra is moderate inside the new breakwater, reduced by run-off from the city after heavy rain and by stirred-up sediment in the shallow basin, 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.

Which vessels do you carry out UWILD on at Accra?

Inshore fishing vessels, Semi-industrial fishing boats and Motorised fishing canoes — the traffic at Jamestown Fishing Port, Accra runs to fishing catch, 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 Accra?

Divers 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 Tema or Elmina, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.

What does UWILD at Accra cost?

It depends on the vessel's dimensions and wetted area, the fouling state found, the coating specification and the working window available at Accra. 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 Accra and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.

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