Pepel Port · SLPEP

UWILD at Pepel Port

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 Pepel Port, Port Loko, 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. Low visibility and short slack windows make this a demanding survey port. Scope, lighting and the surveyor's acceptance criteria are agreed up front, and where the conditions will not support the scope we say so before the attendance is booked.

For bulk carriers in the ore trade, UWILD can avoid a deviation to a dry dock — there is no large yard in Sierra Leone. But Pepel's river water is too silty for most UWILD scopes. We confirm eligibility with class and usually recommend doing the inspection at a clearer-water port on the ship's route.

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 Pepel

Pepel is about 24 kilometres up the Sierra Leone River from Freetown, at the end of the 84-kilometre railway from the Marampa iron ore mine. The river is tidal and carries silt, so visibility is low and dives are timed to the tide, and the anchorage depth of around 9 to 10 metres limits the draft of ships that can work here. The rainy season from about May to October adds heavy run-off.

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

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 Pepel
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 Sierra Leone Ports Authority and the mine operator, with the vessel secured and machinery immobilised
Complete report package submitted for the class file and the drydocking credit

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. 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. The tidal stream and the silt load govern the method here: the working window is slack water, not the working day, and the operation is planned by feel and surface supervision with video kept as the record rather than as the diver's means of navigation.

Work is taken at the ore loading berth and Pepel anchorage, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. 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

Dry bulk handling here puts cargo dust into the water around the berths and anchorage. It settles on horizontal surfaces and packs into sea chest gratings and inlet openings, so inlet and grating clearance is routinely a larger part of the job at Pepel than owners budget for.

Bulk carriers at Pepel often wait at anchor for a loading slot in warm, silty river water. Growth builds on the flat bottom during the wait, and the sea chests take in silt as well as marine growth.

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 Pepel

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification 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
Permits and approvals
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. 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 Pepel
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Freetown Lungi (FNA). Where a vessel is also calling at Freetown, 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.

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 — UWILD Inspection at Pepel

Do you provide UWILD 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.

Can UWILD be done at Pepel?

It is rarely the best place because the river water is silty. We confirm eligibility with class and plan the inspection at a port on the route with clearer water.

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

During the wait at the Pepel anchorage, at slack water. Divers do not work alongside the ore berth during loading. 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.

Do you need a diving permit from Sierra Leone Ports Authority and the mine operator?

Yes, and we obtain it. Diving permission from Sierra Leone Ports Authority and the mine operator, 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 Pepel?

Visibility at Pepel Port is low — the Sierra Leone River is tidal and silty, and worst in the rainy season, 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 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?

Divers 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 UWILD at Pepel cost?

It depends on the vessel's dimensions and wetted area, the fouling state found, the coating specification and the working window available at Pepel. 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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