Blog
Practical guides from the people who do the work — hull, hold and tank cleaning, in-water survey and the port conditions that decide how a job goes.
Planning & costHow long does bulk carrier hold cleaning take? Realistic timings and manpower
Realistic hold cleaning timings for bulk carriers — per hold and per ship, by previous cargo and cleanliness standard — plus how many people you need to clean five holds and what slows the job down.
13 October 2026 · 4 min read
Planning & costHow much does bulk carrier hold cleaning cost? What drives the price and what a quote should include
What bulk carrier hold cleaning costs depends on more than the number of holds. How hold cleaning is priced (per hold, per day, riding crew), what affects the quote, and who pays.
13 October 2026 · 5 min read
Inspection & standardsWhy bulk carrier holds fail inspection, and the 12 failures surveyors find most
The most common reasons bulk carrier holds fail a cargo hold inspection, from residue and loose rust to moisture, smell and infestation, plus what surveyors look for and how to pre-inspect.
12 October 2026 · 5 min read
Hold cleaningHold cleaning chemicals: alkaline vs acid, dilution, dwell time and when to use them
A practical guide to bulk carrier hold cleaning chemicals — which chemical removes coal, petcoke and cement, alkaline vs acid cleaners, dilution, dwell time, rinsing, MARPOL and PPE.
12 October 2026 · 5 min read
- Cargo-specific cleaning
Coal hold cleaning: removing coal dust, stains and residue for the next cargo
How to clean coal residue and coal dust from bulk carrier holds, remove coal stains from tank tops, and what each next cargo (grain, fertiliser, cement, iron ore) actually demands.
11 October 2026 · 5 min read
Cargo-specific cleaningCleaning holds after sulphur: washing, limewashing and stopping the corrosion
Why sulphur attacks cargo holds, why the IMSBC Code says fresh water and not seawater, how to limewash before loading, and how to clean and prepare holds after a sulphur cargo.
11 October 2026 · 5 min read
- Inspection & standards
How to prepare cargo holds for grain: a grain-clean checklist that passes survey
Preparing bulk carrier holds for a grain cargo — what grain clean means, how much time to allow, the checklist the Chief Officer should run before calling the surveyor, and the usual reasons ships fail.
10 October 2026 · 6 min read
- Cargo-specific cleaning
Petcoke hold cleaning: why it's so hard to remove and how to get holds back to grain clean
Why petroleum coke sticks to cargo holds, which chemicals work, how to clean petcoke from frames and brackets, and a realistic petcoke-to-grain hold cleaning procedure.
10 October 2026 · 6 min read
- Hold cleaning
How to clean a bulk carrier cargo hold: the full procedure, step by step
A practical bulk carrier hold cleaning procedure — from planning and dry sweeping to washing, chemicals, fresh water rinse, drying and the pre-inspection — in the order that actually works.
9 October 2026 · 8 min read
- Inspection & standards
Hospital clean, grain clean, normal clean, shovel clean, load on top: hold cleanliness standards explained
What hospital clean, grain clean, normal clean, shovel clean and load on top actually mean, who decides which one applies, and what happens when a hold fails.
9 October 2026 · 6 min read