Cargo Hold Cleaning (Shore Gang) at Dhamra Port
Holds ready for the next fixture before the vessel sails
Get a quote
Tell us the vessel, the port and the window. Scoped reply, usually the same working day.
Cleanship Marine puts shore gangs on board at Dhamra Port, Odisha, to clean cargo holds between fixtures — sweeping, washing, rinsing and drying to the standard the next cargo demands, worked at the deep-draft bulk berths and outer anchorage.
Dhamra is a privately operated deep-water port on the Odisha coast built around dry bulk, feeding coal and iron ore into the eastern steel and power belt. The Capesize and Panamax bulk carriers calling here carry the largest wetted hull areas of any traffic in India, which is also where the absolute fuel saving from a clean hull is largest.
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 Dhamra
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 north-east monsoon sets the outer limits of the calendar, roughly October to December, and it affects the anchorage far more than the berth. Access approval runs through Dhamra Port Company and the terminal, and the disposal route for residues and washings is fixed before the gang boards rather than found afterwards.
- Where we work
- Deep-draft bulk berths · Outer anchorage
- Vessels we see here
- Capesize and Panamax bulk carriers · LNG carriers
What we do at Dhamra
- 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 Dhamra
- Hold-by-hold photographic record and a completion report ahead of the inspection
Planning the window at Dhamra
The north-east monsoon governs the calendar at Dhamra Port, roughly October to December. The Bay of Bengal also carries cyclone risk in April to June and again from October to December, so an anchorage attendance on this coast is planned with a standby allowance rather than a single fixed date. 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.
Teams mobilise via Bhubaneswar (BBI), 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 Dhamra
Coal and iron ore in Capesize quantities is the worst-case hold brief and it is the standing one at Dhamra: coal dust films every surface while ore fines pack into the frames and the tank-top margins. On tonnage this size the hold area alone makes it a riding-crew job rather than a berth-window one.
The standing residues at Dhamra Port are thermal and coking coal, iron ore, limestone — 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.
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.
How we deliver it at Dhamra
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Dhamra. 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 and working approval is arranged with Dhamra Port Company and the terminal, and the disposal route for residues and washings is fixed before the gang boards — MARPOL Annex V compliance is a documented chain at Dhamra, not an assurance. Where reception is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
- 3
Mobilisation to Dhamra
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Bhubaneswar (BBI). Where a vessel is also calling at Paradip, 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 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.
Dhamra Port at a glance
- UN/LOCODE
- INDMA
- Port type
- Private Port
- State
- Odisha
- Country
- India
- Water body
- Bay of Bengal
- Port authority
- Dhamra Port Company
- Main cargoes
- Thermal and coking coal, Iron ore, Limestone, LNG
- Crew mobilisation
- Bhubaneswar (BBI)
- Services here
- Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning
Frequently asked — Cargo Hold Cleaning at Dhamra
Do you provide cargo hold cleaning at Dhamra Port?
Yes. Cleanship Marine works Dhamra Port (INDMA) in Odisha, India, covering the deep-draft bulk berths and outer anchorage. Teams mobilise via Bhubaneswar (BBI) with the full spread.
Can cargo hold cleaning be done while the vessel works cargo at Dhamra?
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 Dhamra and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.
How are hold washings and cargo residues disposed of at Dhamra?
To MARPOL Annex V, through the reception route agreed with Dhamra Port Company 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 Dhamra is limited, we change the plan rather than the paperwork.
Where is the work done at Dhamra — 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.
Which vessels do you carry out cargo hold cleaning on at Dhamra?
Capesize and Panamax bulk carriers, LNG carriers — the traffic at Dhamra Port runs to thermal and coking coal, iron ore, limestone, 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 Dhamra?
Crews and equipment mobilise via Bhubaneswar (BBI). 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 Paradip or Haldia, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.
What does cargo hold cleaning at Dhamra 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 Dhamra 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 Dhamra and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.
Cargo Hold Cleaning (Shore Gang) at Dhamra Port.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Dhamra and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.