Tamil Nadu · INENR

Hold Cleaning at Ennore Port

Holds ready for the next fixture at Ennore Port — coal and car carrier traffic north of Chennai.

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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 Ennore Port (INENR), Tamil Nadu — 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.

Kamarajar Port at Ennore is the dedicated coal and automobile port serving Chennai's industrial hinterland, and it took over the dirty bulk traffic that used to run through Chennai Port itself. Coal carriers on repeat voyages and car carriers on liner schedules are the two profiles most often booked for underwater work here.

Working conditions at Ennore

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

Where we work: Coal berths · RoRo berths · Liquid terminals · Anchorage
Vessels we see here: Bulk carriers · Pure car and truck carriers · LNG carriers · Product tankers

Hold Cleaning scopes at Ennore

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

Planning the window at Ennore

The north-east monsoon governs the calendar at Ennore 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. 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 Chennai (MAA), 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 Ennore

Ennore is a coal port first, so coal dust and the residue driven into the tank-top margins are the recurring job. The car carrier and RoRo tonnage calling here is a different scope entirely — deck cleaning, lashing waste and ramp areas rather than hold washing — and it is worth being clear which one you are asking for.

The standing residues at Ennore Port are thermal coal, automobiles and roro, lng — 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 Ennore

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Ennore. 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 Kamarajar Port Limited 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 Ennore, not an assurance. Where reception is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
3
Mobilisation to Ennore
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Chennai (MAA). Where a vessel is also calling at Chennai, 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.

Ennore Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INENR
Port type: Major Port
State: Tamil Nadu
Country: India
Water body: Bay of Bengal
Port authority: Kamarajar Port Limited
Main cargoes: Thermal coal, Automobiles and RoRo, LNG, POL, General cargo
Crew mobilisation: Chennai (MAA)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Ennore Port

Does Cleanship provide hold cleaning at Ennore Port?

Yes. We cover the full hold cleaning scope at Ennore Port (INENR), Tamil Nadu — cargo hold cleaning (shore gang), hold cleaning riding crew and rope access hold cleaning. Teams mobilise via Chennai (MAA).

Where is the work done at Ennore — 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 Ennore?

Kamarajar Port Limited issues the port-side approval at Ennore 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 Ennore?

Bulk carriers, Pure car and truck carriers, LNG carriers, Product tankers — Ennore Port is coal and car carrier traffic north of Chennai, handling thermal coal, automobiles and roro, lng, pol, general cargo. 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 Ennore?

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 Ennore?

Yes. Chennai, Krishnapatnam and Kakinada 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.

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