Gujarat · INPBD

Hold Cleaning at Porbandar Port

Holds ready for the next fixture at Porbandar Port — clear water on the open 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 Porbandar Port (INPBD), Gujarat — shore gangs alongside, riding crews on the passage out, and IRATA rope access teams for the upper hold. Bauxite, clinker and soda ash are the standing residues, and soda ash is the one to watch — it is alkaline, it attacks coatings if it is left, and it draws moisture out of the air. Holds here are washed promptly after discharge rather than carried to the next port.

Working conditions at Porbandar

Work here runs both alongside and at anchorage depending on the call, and on the passage out where neither gives enough time. 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 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: Breakwater harbour berths · Outer anchorage
Vessels we see here: Handysize bulk carriers · Coastal tankers · Fishing and support craft

Hold Cleaning scopes at Porbandar

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

Planning the window at Porbandar

The south-west monsoon governs the calendar at Porbandar Port, roughly June to September. 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 Porbandar (PBD) or Jamnagar (JGA), 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 Porbandar

Porbandar Port runs bauxite, clinker and cement, soda ash 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.

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 Porbandar

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Porbandar. 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
Gujarat 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 Porbandar is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
3
Mobilisation to Porbandar
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Porbandar (PBD) or Jamnagar (JGA). Where a vessel is also calling at Okha, 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.

Porbandar Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INPBD
Port type: State Port
State: Gujarat
Country: India
Water body: Arabian Sea
Port authority: Gujarat Maritime Board
Main cargoes: Bauxite, Clinker and cement, Soda ash, Fishing catch, Coastal fuel
Crew mobilisation: Porbandar (PBD) / Jamnagar (JGA)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Porbandar Port

Does Cleanship provide hold cleaning at Porbandar Port?

Yes. We cover the full hold cleaning scope at Porbandar Port (INPBD), Gujarat — cargo hold cleaning (shore gang), hold cleaning riding crew and rope access hold cleaning. Teams mobilise via Porbandar (PBD) or Jamnagar (JGA).

Where is the work done at Porbandar — 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.

Who approves hold cleaning work at Porbandar?

Gujarat Maritime Board issues the port-side approval at Porbandar 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 Porbandar?

Handysize bulk carriers, Coastal tankers, Fishing and support craft — Porbandar Port is clear water on the open Saurashtra coast, handling bauxite, clinker and cement, soda ash, fishing catch, coastal fuel. 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 Porbandar?

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 Porbandar?

Yes. Okha, Muldwarka and Pipavav 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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