Southern Province · LKGAL

Hold Cleaning at Galle Port

Holds ready for the next fixture at Galle Port — clear southern water suited to inspection work.

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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 Galle Port (LKGAL), Southern Province — shore gangs alongside, riding crews on the passage out, and IRATA rope access teams for the upper hold. Hold work at Galle is coasters and small general cargo tonnage: dunnage, lashing waste, bilge wells and tank tops rather than a bulk residue clean. The jobs are short, which makes them worth combining with a Colombo attendance on the same trip.

Working conditions at Galle

Work here runs both alongside and at anchorage depending on the call, and on the passage out where neither gives enough time. The two monsoons sets the outer limits of the calendar, the south-west from May to September and the north-east from December to February, and it affects the anchorage far more than the berth. Humidity is high year-round rather than seasonal, so enclosed-space work here is planned with ventilation and rest cycles in every month, not just the summer. Access approval runs through Sri Lanka Ports 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 · Anchorage
Vessels we see here: Coasters and small general cargo ships · Fishing fleet and support craft · Yachts and leisure vessels

Hold Cleaning scopes at Galle

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

Planning the window at Galle

The two monsoons governs the calendar at Galle Port, the south-west from May to September and the north-east from December to February. 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. 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.

Teams mobilise via Colombo (CMB), 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 Galle

Traffic here is general and project cargo, so the hold scope is dunnage, lashing residue, rust scale, bilge wells and tank tops rather than a bulk wash — preparation work against the next fixture rather than recovery from the last one.

The condition we find here varies more than at most ports, because some vessels have had days at anchor to work the holds and some have had none. The scope is confirmed on boarding rather than assumed from the fixture.

How we deliver it at Galle

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Galle. 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
Sri Lanka Ports Authority approves the work alongside the local harbour master, and at a state port that conversation is quicker but less formal — it is worth having in writing. 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 Galle is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
3
Mobilisation to Galle
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Colombo (CMB). Where a vessel is also calling at Colombo, 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.

Galle Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: LKGAL
Port type: State Port
State: Southern Province
Country: Sri Lanka
Water body: Indian Ocean
Port authority: Sri Lanka Ports Authority
Main cargoes: General cargo, Fishing catch, Cement and dry bulk, Yachts and leisure craft
Crew mobilisation: Colombo (CMB)
Services here: Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning

Frequently asked — Galle Port

Does Cleanship provide hold cleaning at Galle Port?

Yes. We cover the full hold cleaning scope at Galle Port (LKGAL), Southern Province — cargo hold cleaning (shore gang), hold cleaning riding crew and rope access hold cleaning. Teams mobilise via Colombo (CMB).

Where is the work done at Galle — 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. Between June and September the binding constraint is working temperature inside the space rather than access to it.

Who approves hold cleaning work at Galle?

Sri Lanka Ports Authority issues the port-side approval at Galle 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 Galle?

Coasters and small general cargo ships, Fishing fleet and support craft, Yachts and leisure vessels — Galle Port is clear southern water suited to inspection work, handling general cargo, fishing catch, cement and dry bulk, yachts and leisure craft. 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 Galle?

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 Galle?

Yes. Colombo, Trincomalee and Puttalam 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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