Andhra Pradesh · INKRI

Hold Cleaning at Krishnapatnam Port

Holds ready for the next fixture at Krishnapatnam Port — deep-draft coal berths behind long breakwaters.

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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 Krishnapatnam Port (INKRI), 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.

Krishnapatnam is a privately operated deep-water port in Nellore district built primarily around imported thermal coal for the southern power belt, with container and fertiliser volumes alongside it. Large bulk carriers on repeat coal voyages make it a port where hull and propeller condition show up directly in the fuel bill.

Working conditions at Krishnapatnam

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 Krishnapatnam 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 · Container berths · Anchorage
Vessels we see here: Capesize and Panamax bulk carriers · Container ships

Hold Cleaning scopes at Krishnapatnam

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

Planning the window at Krishnapatnam

The north-east monsoon governs the calendar at Krishnapatnam 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) or Tirupati (TIR), 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 Krishnapatnam

Imported thermal coal dominates, so coal dust is the standing residue — and the fertiliser and edible oil parcels moving through the same port mean the following cargo is often one that will not tolerate any of it. The deep-draft berths take large tonnage, so the hold area is significant even where the residue itself is straightforward.

Krishnapatnam Port runs thermal coal, iron ore and containers 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 Krishnapatnam

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Krishnapatnam. 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 Krishnapatnam Port Company 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 Krishnapatnam, not an assurance. Where reception is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
3
Mobilisation to Krishnapatnam
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Chennai (MAA) or Tirupati (TIR). 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.

Krishnapatnam Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INKRI
Port type: Private Port
State: Andhra Pradesh
Country: India
Water body: Bay of Bengal
Port authority: Krishnapatnam Port Company
Main cargoes: Thermal coal, Iron ore, Containers, Fertiliser, Edible oil
Crew mobilisation: Chennai (MAA) / Tirupati (TIR)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Krishnapatnam Port

Does Cleanship provide hold cleaning at Krishnapatnam Port?

Yes. We cover the full hold cleaning scope at Krishnapatnam Port (INKRI), Andhra Pradesh — cargo hold cleaning (shore gang), hold cleaning riding crew and rope access hold cleaning. Teams mobilise via Chennai (MAA) or Tirupati (TIR).

Where is the work done at Krishnapatnam — 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 Krishnapatnam?

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

Capesize and Panamax bulk carriers, Container ships — Krishnapatnam Port is deep-draft coal berths behind long breakwaters, handling thermal coal, iron ore, containers, fertiliser and edible oil. 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 Krishnapatnam?

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 Krishnapatnam?

Yes. Chennai, Ennore 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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