Hold Cleaning at Dahanu Port
Holds ready for the next fixture at Dahanu Port — long idle discharge cycles at an open coal anchorage.
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Tell us the vessel, the port and the window. Scoped reply, usually the same working day.
Cleanship Marine cleans cargo holds at Dahanu Port (INDHU), Maharashtra — shore gangs alongside, riding crews on the passage out, and IRATA rope access teams for the upper hold. The standard is the one the next fixture demands, and the residue and washings are disposed of to MARPOL Annex V rather than left with the master.
Dahanu is a lighterage anchorage serving the thermal power station on the Palghar coast, working coal parcels out to barges rather than over a deep-water berth. Vessels sit at anchor through long discharge cycles, and that is precisely when fouling gets its opportunity — the hull is warm, static and in nutrient-rich coastal water for days at a time.
Working conditions at Dahanu
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 Maharashtra 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
- Outer anchorage · Lighterage transfer position
- Vessels we see here
- Handysize and Supramax bulk carriers · Lighterage barges and tugs
Hold Cleaning scopes at Dahanu
3 scopes, one team and one mobilisation. Most vessels calling here take more than one on the same attendance.
Planning the window at Dahanu
The south-west monsoon governs the calendar at Dahanu 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 Mumbai (BOM), 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 Dahanu
Coal is the only residue that matters here. Discharge is by grab into barges over several days, so coal dust films every surface and settles again after each sweep — the cleaning is done once discharge is genuinely finished, not between grabs. Vessels leaving Dahanu for a clean fixture need the full wash and rinse sequence.
The standing residues at Dahanu Port are thermal coal and general bulk — 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.
How we deliver it at Dahanu
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Dahanu. 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 Maharashtra 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 Dahanu, not an assurance. Where reception is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
- 3
Mobilisation to Dahanu
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Mumbai (BOM). Where a vessel is also calling at Mumbai, 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 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.
Dahanu Port at a glance
- UN/LOCODE
- INDHU
- Port type
- State Port
- State
- Maharashtra
- Country
- India
- Water body
- Arabian Sea
- Port authority
- Maharashtra Maritime Board
- Main cargoes
- Thermal coal, General bulk
- Crew mobilisation
- Mumbai (BOM)
- Services here
- Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning
Frequently asked — Dahanu Port
Does Cleanship provide hold cleaning at Dahanu Port?
Yes. We cover the full hold cleaning scope at Dahanu Port (INDHU), Maharashtra — cargo hold cleaning (shore gang), hold cleaning riding crew and rope access hold cleaning. Teams mobilise via Mumbai (BOM).
Where is the work done at Dahanu — 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.
Who approves hold cleaning work at Dahanu?
Maharashtra Maritime Board issues the port-side approval at Dahanu Port, with terminal approval on top where the berth requires it. We arrange both, along with the waste reception and disposal route, so it does not fall to the agent or the master.
Which vessels call at Dahanu?
Handysize and Supramax bulk carriers, Lighterage barges and tugs — Dahanu Port is long idle discharge cycles at an open coal anchorage, handling thermal coal and general bulk. Those are the profiles we see most, and the scope is sized to the vessel rather than to a standard package.
Can this be done without taking the vessel off hire at Dahanu?
Yes — that is the point of it. Every scope listed here is carried out with the vessel afloat and working, at the berth, at the anchorage or on the passage out. Shore gangs work alongside or at anchorage and riding crews finish on the passage, so no port time is spent on cleaning and the vessel is never off hire.
Do you cover other ports near Dahanu?
Yes. Mumbai, Nhava Sheva and Magdalla all sit within the same operating range for hold cleaning, and a single mobilisation is often sized to cover more than one vessel on the same trip. We work 45 ports on the coverage list for this line.
Hold Cleaning at Dahanu Port.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Dahanu and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.