Cargo Hold Cleaning (Shore Gang) at Visakhapatnam 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 Visakhapatnam Port, Andhra Pradesh, to clean cargo holds between fixtures — sweeping, washing, rinsing and drying to the standard the next cargo demands, worked at the inner harbour berths and outer harbour.
Visakhapatnam is the principal major port on the Andhra coast, handling iron ore, coal, crude and containers, with Hindustan Shipyard and a naval dockyard in the same waters. Cleanship keeps an operating base at Visakhapatnam, 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 Visakhapatnam
Work here runs both alongside and at anchorage depending on the call, and on the passage out where neither gives enough time. 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 Visakhapatnam 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
- Inner harbour berths · Outer harbour · Anchorage
- Vessels we see here
- Capesize and Panamax bulk carriers · Crude and product tankers · Container ships · Offshore and naval auxiliary craft
What we do at Visakhapatnam
- 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 Visakhapatnam
- Hold-by-hold photographic record and a completion report ahead of the inspection
Planning the window at Visakhapatnam
The north-east monsoon governs the calendar at Visakhapatnam 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. 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 Visakhapatnam, 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 Visakhapatnam
Iron ore, alumina and coal are the standing residues at Visakhapatnam, and the red staining from ore fines is the one owners underestimate — it needs chemical treatment and rinsing, not sweeping. Cleanship holds an operating base here, so a gang can be on board the same day.
Visakhapatnam Port runs iron ore and pellets, coking and thermal coal, crude and pol through the same holds, and that sequence is where the money is lost: mineral fines and dust from one fixture will fail an inspection for the next if the holds are only swept. The standard that matters is the one the next cargo demands, not the one the last one left.
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 Visakhapatnam
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Visakhapatnam. 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 Visakhapatnam 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 Visakhapatnam, not an assurance. Where reception is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
- 3
Mobilisation to Visakhapatnam
Cleanship holds an operating base at Visakhapatnam, 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.
Visakhapatnam Port at a glance
- UN/LOCODE
- INVTZ
- Port type
- Major Port
- State
- Andhra Pradesh
- Country
- India
- Water body
- Bay of Bengal
- Port authority
- Visakhapatnam Port Authority
- Main cargoes
- Iron ore and pellets, Coking and thermal coal, Crude and POL, Containers, Fertiliser, Alumina
- Crew mobilisation
- Visakhapatnam (VTZ)
- Services here
- Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning
Frequently asked — Cargo Hold Cleaning at Visakhapatnam
Do you provide cargo hold cleaning at Visakhapatnam Port?
Yes. Cleanship Marine works Visakhapatnam Port (INVTZ) in Andhra Pradesh, India, covering the inner harbour berths, outer harbour and anchorage. We hold an operating base at Visakhapatnam, 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 Visakhapatnam?
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 Visakhapatnam and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.
How are hold washings and cargo residues disposed of at Visakhapatnam?
To MARPOL Annex V, through the reception route agreed with Visakhapatnam 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 Visakhapatnam is limited, we change the plan rather than the paperwork.
Where is the work done at Visakhapatnam — 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 Visakhapatnam?
Capesize and Panamax bulk carriers, Crude and product tankers, Container ships, Offshore and naval auxiliary craft — the traffic at Visakhapatnam Port runs to iron ore and pellets, coking and thermal coal, crude and pol, 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 Visakhapatnam?
Cleanship keeps an operating base at Visakhapatnam, 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 Visakhapatnam 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 Visakhapatnam 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 Visakhapatnam and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.
Cargo Hold Cleaning (Shore Gang) at Visakhapatnam Port.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Visakhapatnam and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.