Andhra Pradesh · INGGV

Hold Cleaning at Gangavaram Port

Holds ready for the next fixture at Gangavaram Port — deep-draft Capesize berths sharing the Visakhapatnam approach.

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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 Gangavaram Port (INGGV), Andhra Pradesh — 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.

Gangavaram is a privately operated deep-water bulk port on the Andhra coast, built to take fully laden Capesize tonnage for the steel, power and alumina industries. It shares an approach with Visakhapatnam, where Cleanship keeps an operating base, so a single mobilisation frequently covers vessels at both ports on the same trip.

Working conditions at Gangavaram

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 Gangavaram 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: Deep-draft bulk berths · Outer anchorage
Vessels we see here: Capesize and Panamax bulk carriers · General cargo ships

Hold Cleaning scopes at Gangavaram

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

Planning the window at Gangavaram

The north-east monsoon governs the calendar at Gangavaram 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 Visakhapatnam (VTZ), 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 Gangavaram

Gangavaram loads and discharges bauxite, limestone and ore alongside coal, and bauxite is the one that surprises owners: it is fine, red and it stains, so it needs chemical treatment and rinsing rather than sweeping. Capesize hold areas make this a job to plan in days, not shifts.

Gangavaram Port runs thermal and coking coal, iron ore, bauxite 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.

How we deliver it at Gangavaram

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

Gangavaram Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INGGV
Port type: Private Port
State: Andhra Pradesh
Country: India
Water body: Bay of Bengal
Port authority: Gangavaram Port Limited
Main cargoes: Thermal and coking coal, Iron ore, Bauxite, Limestone, Fertiliser, Steel
Crew mobilisation: Visakhapatnam (VTZ)
Services here: Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning

Frequently asked — Gangavaram Port

Does Cleanship provide hold cleaning at Gangavaram Port?

Yes. We cover the full hold cleaning scope at Gangavaram Port (INGGV), Andhra Pradesh — cargo hold cleaning (shore gang), hold cleaning riding crew and rope access hold cleaning. Teams mobilise via Visakhapatnam (VTZ).

Where is the work done at Gangavaram — 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 Gangavaram?

Gangavaram Port Limited issues the port-side approval at Gangavaram 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 Gangavaram?

Capesize and Panamax bulk carriers, General cargo ships — Gangavaram Port is deep-draft Capesize berths sharing the Visakhapatnam approach, handling thermal and coking coal, iron ore, bauxite, limestone, fertiliser, steel. 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 Gangavaram?

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 Gangavaram?

Yes. Visakhapatnam, Kakinada and Paradip 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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