Ruwais Port · AERUW

Cargo Hold Cleaning (Shore Gang) at Ruwais 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 Ruwais Port, Abu Dhabi, to clean cargo holds between fixtures — sweeping, washing, rinsing and drying to the standard the next cargo demands, worked at the crude loading berths and product jetties.

Ruwais is the UAE's largest refining and petrochemical export complex, loading crude, refined products, LPG and sulphur to dedicated berths. The tonnage is large and specialised, and the port calls are governed end to end by terminal windows.

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 Ruwais

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 AD Ports Group and the terminal operator and the terminal, and the disposal route for residues and washings is fixed before the gang boards rather than found afterwards.

Where we work: Crude loading berths · Product jetties · Sulphur berth
Vessels we see here: VLCC and Suezmax crude tankers · Product and chemical tankers · LPG carriers · Sulphur bulk carriers

What we do at Ruwais

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

Planning the window at Ruwais

The shamal governs the calendar at Ruwais 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 Abu Dhabi (AUH) or 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 Ruwais

The hold scope at Ruwais is sulphur: an aggressive, acidic residue that attacks coatings and steel if it is left, and one that a following cargo will not tolerate. Washing and neutralising is a specification job, not a sweep, and it is normally worked on the passage out rather than at a loading berth.

The standing residues at Ruwais Port are crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals — 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.

Full Hold Cleaning Shore Gang service details

How we deliver it at Ruwais

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Ruwais. 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 AD Ports Group and the terminal operator 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 Ruwais, not an assurance. Where reception is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
3
Mobilisation to Ruwais
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Abu Dhabi (AUH) or Dubai (DXB). Where a vessel is also calling at Khalifa Port, 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.

Ruwais Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: AERUW
Port type: Private Port
Emirate: Abu Dhabi
Country: United Arab Emirates
Water body: Arabian Gulf
Port authority: AD Ports Group and the terminal operator
Main cargoes: Crude oil, Refined products, Petrochemicals, LPG, Sulphur
Crew mobilisation: Abu Dhabi (AUH) / Dubai (DXB)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Cargo Hold Cleaning at Ruwais

Do you provide cargo hold cleaning at Ruwais Port?

Yes. Cleanship Marine works Ruwais Port (AERUW) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, covering the crude loading berths, product jetties and sulphur berth. Teams mobilise via Abu Dhabi (AUH) or Dubai (DXB) with the full spread.

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

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 Ruwais and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.

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

To MARPOL Annex V, through the reception route agreed with AD Ports Group and the terminal operator 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 Ruwais is limited, we change the plan rather than the paperwork.

Where is the work done at Ruwais — 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 Ruwais?

VLCC and Suezmax crude tankers, Product and chemical tankers, LPG carriers, Sulphur bulk carriers — the traffic at Ruwais Port runs to crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals, 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 Ruwais?

Crews and equipment mobilise via Abu Dhabi (AUH) or 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 Khalifa Port or Zayed Port, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.

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

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