Odisha · INDMA

Hold Cleaning at Dhamra Port

Holds ready for the next fixture at Dhamra Port — Capesize dry bulk tonnage on the Odisha coast.

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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 Dhamra Port (INDMA), Odisha — shore gangs alongside, riding crews on the passage out, and IRATA rope access teams for the upper hold. Coal and iron ore in Capesize quantities is the worst-case hold brief and it is the standing one at Dhamra: coal dust films every surface while ore fines pack into the frames and the tank-top margins. On tonnage this size the hold area alone makes it a riding-crew job rather than a berth-window one.

Working conditions at Dhamra

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 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 Dhamra Port Company and the terminal, and the disposal route for residues and washings is fixed before the gang boards rather than found afterwards.

Where we work: Deep-draft bulk berths · Outer anchorage
Vessels we see here: Capesize and Panamax bulk carriers · LNG carriers

Hold Cleaning scopes at Dhamra

3 scopes, one team and one mobilisation. Most vessels calling here take more than one on the same attendance.

Planning the window at Dhamra

The north-east monsoon governs the calendar at Dhamra Port, roughly October to December. For hold work the wind matters less than the rain: holds cannot be washed, dried and closed in wet weather, and a hold shut up damp fails inspection however clean it looks. 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 Bhubaneswar (BBI), 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 Dhamra

The standing residues at Dhamra Port are thermal and coking coal, iron ore, limestone — 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.

What we usually find here is a partial job already attempted: crew sweeping between grabs, with the frames, brackets and tank-top margins untouched because there was never the time to reach them. Those are exactly the places an inspection looks.

How we deliver it at Dhamra

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Dhamra. 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 at Dhamra Port is the terminal operator's decision as much as Dhamra Port Company's, so both are in the approval chain from the start — a berth-side refusal discovered at the gangway costs the whole attendance. The disposal route for residues and washings is fixed before the gang boards — MARPOL Annex V compliance is a documented chain, not an assurance. Where reception at Dhamra is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
3
Mobilisation to Dhamra
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Bhubaneswar (BBI). Where a vessel is also calling at Paradip, 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.

Dhamra Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INDMA
Port type: Private Port
State: Odisha
Country: India
Water body: Bay of Bengal
Port authority: Dhamra Port Company
Main cargoes: Thermal and coking coal, Iron ore, Limestone, LNG
Crew mobilisation: Bhubaneswar (BBI)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Dhamra Port

Does Cleanship provide hold cleaning at Dhamra Port?

Yes. We cover the full hold cleaning scope at Dhamra Port (INDMA), Odisha — cargo hold cleaning (shore gang), hold cleaning riding crew and rope access hold cleaning. Teams mobilise via Bhubaneswar (BBI).

Where is the work done at Dhamra — 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.

Who approves hold cleaning work at Dhamra?

Dhamra Port Company issues the port-side approval at Dhamra 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 Dhamra?

Capesize and Panamax bulk carriers, LNG carriers — Dhamra Port is Capesize dry bulk tonnage on the Odisha coast, handling thermal and coking coal, iron ore, limestone, LNG. What sizes a hold job is the number of holds, the last cargo and the standard the next fixture demands — not the vessel's dimensions.

Can this be done without taking the vessel off hire at Dhamra?

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 Dhamra?

Yes. Paradip, Haldia and Kolkata 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 63 ports on the coverage list for this line.

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