Kandla Port · INIXY

Cargo Hold Cleaning (Shore Gang) at Kandla 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 Kandla Port, Gujarat, to clean cargo holds between fixtures — sweeping, washing, rinsing and drying to the standard the next cargo demands, worked at the Kandla creek berths and oil jetties.

Kandla, officially Deendayal Port, is among the highest-tonnage ports in India and the principal liquid and dry bulk gateway for the north and west of the country. Tankers on edible oil and POL parcels and bulk carriers on fertiliser and grain make up most of the traffic. Cleanship keeps an operating base at Kandla, so divers, compressors and cleaning gear are held locally rather than flown in against a berth window.

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 Kandla

Work here runs both alongside and at anchorage depending on the call, and on the passage out where neither gives enough time. The south-west monsoon sets the outer limits of the calendar, roughly June to September, and it affects the anchorage far more than the berth. Access approval runs through Deendayal Port 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: Kandla creek berths · Oil jetties · Outer anchorage
Vessels we see here: Product and chemical tankers · Bulk carriers · General cargo ships

What we do at Kandla

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 Kandla
Hold-by-hold photographic record and a completion report ahead of the inspection

Planning the window at Kandla

The south-west monsoon governs the calendar at Kandla Port, roughly June to September. Swell and reduced surface visibility close most open-water work on this coast for the duration, and the weeks either side are unreliable rather than unusable. Some vessels sit and some turn straight round, so the plan is agreed against the actual call rather than a standard package: a shore gang alongside where there is time, a riding crew on the outward passage where there is not.

Cleanship holds an operating base at Kandla, 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 Kandla

Kandla runs grain, fertiliser and salt through the same berths, and fertiliser residues are the difficult ones: hygroscopic, corrosive to coatings and unforgiving if a grain cargo follows. Grain-clean standards here are worked to a surveyor attendance, so the cleaning plan is built backwards from the inspection, not forwards from the discharge.

Agricultural and fertiliser parcels dominate here, and they are the unforgiving residues: hygroscopic, corrosive to coatings if left damp, and an outright inspection failure ahead of a food-grade cargo. Holds shut up wet at Kandla are holds that need doing twice.

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 Kandla

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Kandla. 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 Deendayal Port Authority 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 Kandla, not an assurance. Where reception is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
3
Mobilisation to Kandla
Cleanship holds an operating base at Kandla, 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.

Kandla Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INIXY
Port type: Major Port
State: Gujarat
Country: India
Water body: Gulf of Kutch
Port authority: Deendayal Port Authority
Main cargoes: POL and edible oils, Fertiliser and raw materials, Grain, Salt, Timber, Containers
Crew mobilisation: Kandla (IXY) / Bhuj (BHJ)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Cargo Hold Cleaning at Kandla

Do you provide cargo hold cleaning at Kandla Port?

Yes. Cleanship Marine works Kandla Port (INIXY) in Gujarat, India, covering the Kandla creek berths, oil jetties and outer anchorage. We hold an operating base at Kandla, 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 Kandla?

It depends on the call. Where the vessel has time, a shore gang works the holds alongside as they empty; where she turns straight round, a riding crew completes them on the passage. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Kandla and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.

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

To MARPOL Annex V, through the reception route agreed with Deendayal Port 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 Kandla is limited, we change the plan rather than the paperwork.

Where is the work done at Kandla — alongside, at anchorage or on passage?

Work here runs both alongside and at anchorage depending on the call, and on the passage out where neither gives enough time.

Which vessels do you carry out cargo hold cleaning on at Kandla?

Product and chemical tankers, Bulk carriers, General cargo ships — the traffic at Kandla Port runs to pol and edible oils, fertiliser and raw materials, grain, 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 Kandla?

Cleanship keeps an operating base at Kandla, 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 Kandla 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 Kandla 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 Kandla and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.

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