Cargo Hold Cleaning (Shore Gang) at Muldwarka 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 Muldwarka Port, Gujarat, to clean cargo holds between fixtures — sweeping, washing, rinsing and drying to the standard the next cargo demands, worked at the jetty berth and offshore anchorage.
Muldwarka is a captive bulk terminal near Kodinar serving the cement industry, working clinker, cement and coal over a jetty rather than through an enclosed basin. Traffic is dominated by coastal cement carriers on short, repeated voyages — a fleet where regular hull and propeller work pays back quickly.
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 Muldwarka
Most of the work at this port happens at the anchorage, simply because that is where vessels spend their 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 Gujarat Maritime Board and the terminal, and the disposal route for residues and washings is fixed before the gang boards rather than found afterwards.
- Where we work
- Jetty berth · Offshore anchorage
- Vessels we see here
- Coastal cement carriers · Handysize bulk carriers · Barges and tugs
What we do at Muldwarka
- 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 Muldwarka
- Hold-by-hold photographic record and a completion report ahead of the inspection
Planning the window at Muldwarka
The south-west monsoon governs the calendar at Muldwarka 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. Waiting time is the opportunity here. Vessels sit at this port for extended periods, so holds can be worked properly and to a standard rather than rushed between grabs — and a gang put on board during the wait costs the vessel nothing in schedule.
Teams mobilise via Diu (DIU) or Rajkot (RAJ), 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 Muldwarka
Cement and clinker are the residues here and they are the unforgiving kind, because they set. A hold washed late after a clinker cargo needs mechanical removal rather than a hose, so on the short coastal runs out of Muldwarka the cleaning is planned for immediately after discharge, never for the next port.
The standing residues at Muldwarka Port are cement and clinker, coal, gypsum — 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 Muldwarka
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Muldwarka. 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 Gujarat Maritime Board 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 Muldwarka, not an assurance. Where reception is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
- 3
Mobilisation to Muldwarka
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Diu (DIU) or Rajkot (RAJ). Where a vessel is also calling at Pipavav, 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.
Muldwarka Port at a glance
- UN/LOCODE
- INMDK
- Port type
- State Port
- State
- Gujarat
- Country
- India
- Water body
- Arabian Sea off Saurashtra
- Port authority
- Gujarat Maritime Board
- Main cargoes
- Cement and clinker, Coal, Gypsum
- Crew mobilisation
- Diu (DIU) / Rajkot (RAJ)
- Services here
- Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning
Frequently asked — Cargo Hold Cleaning at Muldwarka
Do you provide cargo hold cleaning at Muldwarka Port?
Yes. Cleanship Marine works Muldwarka Port (INMDK) in Gujarat, India, covering the jetty berth and offshore anchorage. Teams mobilise via Diu (DIU) or Rajkot (RAJ) with the full spread.
Can cargo hold cleaning be done while the vessel works cargo at Muldwarka?
Yes, and the better answer here is usually to start before discharge finishes. Vessels wait at this port, so a gang boards during the wait and works the holds as they empty — no port time is lost, because the vessel was not sailing anyway. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Muldwarka and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.
How are hold washings and cargo residues disposed of at Muldwarka?
To MARPOL Annex V, through the reception route agreed with Gujarat Maritime Board 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 Muldwarka is limited, we change the plan rather than the paperwork.
Where is the work done at Muldwarka — alongside, at anchorage or on passage?
Most of the work at this port happens at the anchorage, simply because that is where vessels spend their time.
Which vessels do you carry out cargo hold cleaning on at Muldwarka?
Coastal cement carriers, Handysize bulk carriers, Barges and tugs — the traffic at Muldwarka Port runs to cement and clinker, coal, gypsum, 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 Muldwarka?
Crews and equipment mobilise via Diu (DIU) or Rajkot (RAJ). 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 Pipavav or Porbandar, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.
What does cargo hold cleaning at Muldwarka 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 Muldwarka 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 Muldwarka and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.
Cargo Hold Cleaning (Shore Gang) at Muldwarka Port.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Muldwarka and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.


