Port Loko · SLPEP

Hold Cleaning at Pepel Port

Holds ready for the next fixture at Pepel Port — iron ore loading on the Sierra Leone River.

Get a quote

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

Cleanship Marine cleans cargo holds at Pepel Port (SLPEP), Port Loko — shore gangs alongside, riding crews on the passage out, and IRATA rope access teams for the upper hold. Iron ore fines are the residue at Pepel. They are heavy, they stain and they pack into frames and hopper corners, so the next cargo usually needs a full wash — and in the rainy season a washed hold will not dry by itself.

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

Hold Cleaning scopes at Pepel

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

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.

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 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 — Pepel Port

Does Cleanship provide hold cleaning at Pepel Port?

Yes. We cover the full hold cleaning scope at Pepel Port (SLPEP), Port Loko — cargo hold cleaning (shore gang), hold cleaning riding crew and rope access hold cleaning. Teams mobilise via Freetown Lungi (FNA).

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.

Who approves hold cleaning work at Pepel?

Sierra Leone Ports Authority and the mine operator issues the port-side approval at Pepel 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 Pepel?

Handysize to Panamax bulk carriers, Barges and tugs — Pepel Port is iron ore loading on the Sierra Leone River, handling iron ore. What sizes a hold job is the number of holds, the last cargo and the standard the next fixture demands — not the vessel's dimensions.

Can this be done without taking the vessel off hire at Pepel?

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. Shore gangs work alongside or at anchorage and riding crews finish on the passage, so no port time is spent on cleaning and the vessel is never off hire.

Do you cover other ports near Pepel?

Yes. Freetown, Conakry and Monrovia all sit within the same operating range for hold 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.

Get in touch