Andhra Pradesh · INKAK

Hold Cleaning at Kakinada Port

Holds ready for the next fixture at Kakinada Port — a deep-water port and a lighterage anchorage working side by side.

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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 Kakinada Port (INKAK), Andhra Pradesh — shore gangs alongside, riding crews on the passage out, and IRATA rope access teams for the upper hold. Kakinada moves agricultural bulk and fertiliser through the same holds, and that sequence is the classic contamination risk: fertiliser residue into a food-grade cargo fails inspection outright. The cleaning standard here is set by the next fixture, not the last one.

Working conditions at Kakinada

Most of the work at this port happens at the anchorage, simply because that is where vessels spend their time. 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 Kakinada Seaports and the Andhra Pradesh 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: Deep water port berths · Anchorage port lighterage position · Outer anchorage
Vessels we see here: Handysize and Supramax bulk carriers · Product and chemical tankers · Offshore support vessels

Hold Cleaning scopes at Kakinada

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

Planning the window at Kakinada

The north-east monsoon governs the calendar at Kakinada 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. 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 Rajahmundry (RJA) or 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 Kakinada

Agricultural and fertiliser parcels dominate here, and they are the unforgiving residues: hygroscopic, corrosive to coatings if left damp, and an outright inspection failure ahead of a food-grade cargo. Holds shut up wet at Kakinada are holds that need doing twice.

The other thing that shows up here is time. Vessels wait, holds sit shut with residue still in them, and residue that sits gets harder to shift — the job found after a long wait at anchorage is not the job that would have been found on the day of discharge.

How we deliver it at Kakinada

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Kakinada. 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
Kakinada Seaports and the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board 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 Kakinada is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
3
Mobilisation to Kakinada
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Rajahmundry (RJA) or 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.

Kakinada Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INKAK
Port type: State Port
State: Andhra Pradesh
Country: India
Water body: Bay of Bengal
Port authority: Kakinada Seaports and the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board
Main cargoes: Agricultural bulk and rice, Fertiliser, Edible oil, Cement, Offshore project cargo
Crew mobilisation: Rajahmundry (RJA) / Visakhapatnam (VTZ)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Kakinada Port

Does Cleanship provide hold cleaning at Kakinada Port?

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

Where is the work done at Kakinada — 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 Kakinada?

Kakinada Seaports and the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board issues the port-side approval at Kakinada 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 Kakinada?

Handysize and Supramax bulk carriers, Product and chemical tankers, Offshore support vessels — Kakinada Port is a deep-water port and a lighterage anchorage working side by side, handling agricultural bulk and rice, fertiliser, edible oil, cement, offshore project cargo. 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 Kakinada?

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 Kakinada?

Yes. Visakhapatnam, Gangavaram and Krishnapatnam 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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