Dammam Port · SADMM

Cargo Hold Cleaning (Shore Gang) at Dammam Port

Holds ready for the next fixture before the vessel sails

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

Cleanship Marine puts shore gangs on board at Dammam Port, Eastern Province, to clean cargo holds between fixtures — sweeping, washing, rinsing and drying to the standard the next cargo demands, worked at the container terminal berths, general cargo and RoRo berths.

Dammam is container, RoRo and project tonnage rather than dirty bulk, so hold work here is cell guides, hold bilges, tank tops and lashing gear — confined-space maintenance scope on liner ships working a fixed rotation, not residue removal. Summer heat, not access, is what sizes the job between June and September.

What it gets you

Holds presented to the standard the next fixture actually requires
Inspection failures and the resulting demurrage avoided
Residue and washings disposed of to MARPOL Annex V rather than left as the master's problem
Crew kept on their own work instead of on cleaning duty

Working conditions at Dammam

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 shamal sets the outer limits of the calendar, through the winter months and again in early summer, and it affects the anchorage far more than the berth. The larger constraint here is heat. Between June and September, working temperatures inside a cargo hold or a tank at this port routinely exceed anything a full shift can be worked in, so enclosed-space work runs to shortened cycles with enforced rest, forced ventilation and more people than the same job needs in winter. Pricing a Gulf summer tank entry on a winter productivity assumption is the most common way these jobs overrun. Access approval runs through Mawani, the Saudi Ports Authority and the terminal, and the disposal route for residues and washings is fixed before the gang boards rather than found afterwards.

Where we work: Container terminal berths · General cargo and RoRo berths · Outer anchorage
Vessels we see here: Main-line and feeder container ships · Pure car and truck carriers · General cargo and project vessels · Handysize bulk carriers

What we do at Dammam

Sweeping and removal of cargo residues, dunnage and lashing waste from tank tops, frames and brackets
Fresh or sea water washing with the correct chemical treatment for the residue found, followed by a fresh water rinse
Bilge wells, strum boxes, bilge lines and hold ladders cleaned and tested
Drying and ventilation so holds pass inspection rather than merely look clean
Residue and washing water handled to MARPOL Annex V requirements and the disposal rules in force at Dammam
Hold-by-hold photographic record and a completion report ahead of the inspection

Planning the window at Dammam

The shamal governs the calendar at Dammam Port, through the winter months and again in early summer. 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. Turnaround here is quick and the berth will not be held open for cleaning, so the work is either sequenced hold by hold behind the discharge as each one empties, or handed to a riding crew to complete on the passage out. Waiting for all holds to be empty is waiting past the berth window.

Cleanship holds an operating base at Dammam, so we can hold a team ready against a shifting ETA rather than committing travel to a date that may move.

What we typically find at Dammam

This is container and unitised tonnage, so the scope is cell guides, hold bilges, bilge wells, tank tops and lashing gear rather than a bulk residue clean — steady maintenance work at height and in confined spaces, on ships that will not extend a berth window for it.

What we usually find here is a partial job already attempted: crew sweeping between grabs, with the frames, brackets and tank-top margins untouched because there was never the time to reach them. Those are exactly the places an inspection looks.

Standard scope of work

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

Sweeping and residue removal: Full manual and mechanical sweep of tank tops, hoppers, brackets and frames, with residues bagged for landing ashore in line with MARPOL Annex V.
High-pressure washing: Fresh or sea water washing at working pressures suited to the coating condition, covering tank top, hopper plating, side frames, bulkheads and the underside of hatch covers.
Chemical treatment: Application of marine-approved, biodegradable degreasers and hold cleaners where previous cargoes have left oily, staining or odour-bearing residues.
Rinsing and drying: Fresh water rinse to remove salt and chemical traces, followed by forced drying and bilge drying so holds present dry, odour-free and free of loose scale.
Bilge wells and hatch coamings: Bilge wells cleaned, strainers cleared and non-return valves tested; coamings, drain channels and compression bars cleaned so hatch covers seal correctly.

Full Hold Cleaning Shore Gang service details

How we deliver it at Dammam

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Dammam. 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
Mawani, the Saudi Ports Authority runs a statutory permit process here, so the lead time is real and the application goes in early rather than on arrival. 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 Dammam is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
3
Mobilisation to Dammam
Cleanship holds an operating base at Dammam, so gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment are on the ground rather than in transit. That is the difference between meeting a window and missing it.
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 cargo 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.

Dammam Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: SADMM
Port type: Major Port
State: Eastern Province
Country: Saudi Arabia
Water body: Arabian Gulf
Port authority: Mawani, the Saudi Ports Authority
Main cargoes: Containers, General and project cargo, RoRo and vehicles, Dry bulk, Livestock
Crew mobilisation: Dammam (DMM)
Services here: Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning

Frequently asked — Cargo Hold Cleaning at Dammam

Do you provide cargo hold cleaning at Dammam Port?

Yes. Cleanship Marine works Dammam Port (SADMM) in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, covering the container terminal berths, general cargo and RoRo berths, outer anchorage. We hold an operating base at Dammam, so people and equipment are held locally rather than mobilised against a window.

Can cargo hold cleaning be done while the vessel works cargo at Dammam?

Partly. Holds are worked one at a time behind the discharge as each empties, but the berth will not be held for the remainder — so the realistic plan is to start alongside and finish with a riding crew on the passage out. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Dammam and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.

How are hold washings and cargo residues disposed of at Dammam?

To MARPOL Annex V, through the reception route agreed with Mawani, the Saudi Ports Authority and the terminal before the gang boards. Residues, sweepings and washing water are tracked from the hold to reception with documentation, so the vessel has a record rather than an assurance. Where reception capacity at Dammam is limited, we change the plan rather than the paperwork.

Where is the work done at Dammam — 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 cargo hold cleaning on at Dammam?

Main-line and feeder container ships, Pure car and truck carriers, General cargo and project vessels, Handysize bulk carriers — the traffic at Dammam Port runs to containers, general and project cargo, RoRo and vehicles, 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 Dammam?

Cleanship keeps an operating base at Dammam, so response here is fast — the constraint is normally the approvals and the working window rather than getting crews and equipment to the port.

What does cargo hold cleaning at Dammam cost?

It depends on the number of holds, the residue from the last cargo, the standard the next fixture demands and how much time the call at Dammam actually gives. 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 Dammam and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.

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