Gujarat · INPAV

Hold Cleaning at Pipavav Port

Holds ready for the next fixture at Pipavav Port — clear all-weather water on the Saurashtra coast.

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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 Pipavav Port (INPAV), Gujarat — 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.

Pipavav is a privately operated all-weather port on the Gujarat coast handling containers, RoRo and dry bulk, with a rail link into the northern hinterland. It draws liner container and car carrier traffic on fixed rotations, which is the kind of predictable calling pattern that suits planned underwater maintenance.

Working conditions at Pipavav

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 south-west monsoon sets the outer limits of the calendar, roughly June to September, and it affects the anchorage far more than the berth. Access approval runs through Gujarat Pipavav 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: Container berths · Bulk berths · RoRo berth · Anchorage
Vessels we see here: Container ships · Pure car and truck carriers · Bulk carriers · Product tankers

Hold Cleaning scopes at Pipavav

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

Planning the window at Pipavav

The south-west monsoon governs the calendar at Pipavav Port, roughly June to September. Swell and reduced surface visibility close most open-water work on this coast for the duration, and the weeks either side are unreliable rather than unusable. 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 Diu (DIU) or Rajkot (RAJ), 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 Pipavav

Pipavav mixes container and RoRo tonnage with dry bulk and fertiliser, so the hold scope splits by caller: cell guides, bilge wells and tank tops on the box ships, full residue removal on the bulk. Terminal windows are tight on both, so the work is sized and staged before anyone boards.

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 Pipavav are holds that need doing twice.

How we deliver it at Pipavav

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Pipavav. 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 Gujarat Pipavav 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 Pipavav, not an assurance. Where reception is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
3
Mobilisation to Pipavav
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Diu (DIU) or Rajkot (RAJ). Where a vessel is also calling at Bhavnagar, 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.

Pipavav Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INPAV
Port type: Private Port
State: Gujarat
Country: India
Water body: Arabian Sea off Saurashtra
Port authority: Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited
Main cargoes: Containers, Dry bulk, RoRo and automobiles, Liquid bulk, Fertiliser
Crew mobilisation: Diu (DIU) / Rajkot (RAJ)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Pipavav Port

Does Cleanship provide hold cleaning at Pipavav Port?

Yes. We cover the full hold cleaning scope at Pipavav Port (INPAV), Gujarat — cargo hold cleaning (shore gang), hold cleaning riding crew and rope access hold cleaning. Teams mobilise via Diu (DIU) or Rajkot (RAJ).

Where is the work done at Pipavav — 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 Pipavav?

Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited issues the port-side approval at Pipavav 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 Pipavav?

Container ships, Pure car and truck carriers, Bulk carriers, Product tankers — Pipavav Port is clear all-weather water on the Saurashtra coast, handling containers, dry bulk, roro and automobiles, liquid bulk, fertiliser. 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 Pipavav?

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 Pipavav?

Yes. Bhavnagar, Muldwarka and Mundra 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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