Port Rashid Port · AEDXB

Cargo Hold Cleaning (Shore Gang) at Port Rashid 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 Port Rashid Port, Dubai, to clean cargo holds between fixtures — sweeping, washing, rinsing and drying to the standard the next cargo demands, worked at the cruise terminal berths and general cargo berths.

Port Rashid is Dubai's cruise and general cargo port and a ship repair centre, working passenger tonnage on season rotations alongside project cargo and a substantial harbour craft fleet. Cruise turnarounds are short and fixed, so underwater work is scoped to fit inside the port call or planned for the lay-up period.

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 Port Rashid

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 DP World and the Dubai Maritime 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: Cruise terminal berths · General cargo berths · Ship repair quays
Vessels we see here: Cruise ships · General cargo and project vessels · Tugs, workboats and harbour craft · Superyachts

What we do at Port Rashid

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

Planning the window at Port Rashid

The shamal governs the calendar at Port Rashid Port, through the winter months and again in early summer. The shamal is a wind and sea-state problem rather than a rain one: it builds short, steep seas across the shallow Gulf that stop anchorage work while berths stay usable. 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 Dubai (DXB), 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 Port Rashid

Hold and space cleaning at Port Rashid is mostly cruise and project tonnage — stores spaces, void spaces and tank tops rather than cargo residue — plus preparation work on vessels coming out of repair.

Traffic here is general and project cargo, so the hold scope is dunnage, lashing residue, rust scale, bilge wells and tank tops rather than a bulk wash — preparation work against the next fixture rather than recovery from the last one.

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 Port Rashid

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Port Rashid. 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 DP World and the Dubai Maritime 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 Port Rashid, not an assurance. Where reception is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
3
Mobilisation to Port Rashid
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Dubai (DXB). Where a vessel is also calling at Jebel Ali, 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.

Port Rashid Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: AEDXB
Port type: Private Port
Emirate: Dubai
Country: United Arab Emirates
Water body: Arabian Gulf
Port authority: DP World and the Dubai Maritime Authority
Main cargoes: Cruise and passenger, General cargo, Project cargo, Ship repair
Crew mobilisation: Dubai (DXB)
Services here: Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning

Frequently asked — Cargo Hold Cleaning at Port Rashid

Do you provide cargo hold cleaning at Port Rashid Port?

Yes. Cleanship Marine works Port Rashid Port (AEDXB) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, covering the cruise terminal berths, general cargo berths and ship repair quays. Teams mobilise via Dubai (DXB) with the full spread.

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

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 Port Rashid and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.

How are hold washings and cargo residues disposed of at Port Rashid?

To MARPOL Annex V, through the reception route agreed with DP World and the Dubai Maritime 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 Port Rashid is limited, we change the plan rather than the paperwork.

Where is the work done at Port Rashid — 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 Port Rashid?

Cruise ships, General cargo and project vessels, Tugs, workboats and harbour craft, Superyachts — the traffic at Port Rashid Port runs to cruise and passenger, general cargo, project cargo, 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 Port Rashid?

Crews and equipment mobilise via Dubai (DXB). 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 Jebel Ali or Sharjah, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.

What does cargo hold cleaning at Port Rashid 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 Port Rashid 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 Port Rashid and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.

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