North Western Province · LKPTL

Hold Cleaning at Puttalam Port

Holds ready for the next fixture at Puttalam Port — a shallow cement lagoon on the north-west 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 Puttalam Port (LKPTL), North Western Province — shore gangs alongside, riding crews on the passage out, and IRATA rope access teams for the upper hold. Cement, clinker and limestone are the standing residues and all three set hard if the holds are washed late. On the short runs out of Puttalam the cleaning is planned for immediately after discharge — carrying it to the next port is how a two-day job becomes a five-day one.

Working conditions at Puttalam

Work here runs both alongside and at anchorage depending on the call, and on the passage out where neither gives enough time. The two monsoons sets the outer limits of the calendar, the south-west from May to September and the north-east from December to February, and it affects the anchorage far more than the berth. Humidity is high year-round rather than seasonal, so enclosed-space work here is planned with ventilation and rest cycles in every month, not just the summer. Access approval runs through Sri Lanka Ports Authority and the terminal, and the disposal route for residues and washings is fixed before the gang boards rather than found afterwards.

Where we work: Cement jetty · Lagoon anchorage · Lightering position
Vessels we see here: Handysize bulk carriers · Barges and coastal craft

Hold Cleaning scopes at Puttalam

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

Planning the window at Puttalam

The two monsoons governs the calendar at Puttalam Port, the south-west from May to September and the north-east from December to February. 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 Colombo (CMB), 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 Puttalam

Puttalam Port runs cement and clinker, limestone, coal 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 Puttalam

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Puttalam. 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
Sri Lanka Ports Authority 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 Puttalam is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
3
Mobilisation to Puttalam
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Colombo (CMB). Where a vessel is also calling at Colombo, 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.

Puttalam Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: LKPTL
Port type: State Port
State: North Western Province
Country: Sri Lanka
Water body: Puttalam Lagoon
Port authority: Sri Lanka Ports Authority
Main cargoes: Cement and clinker, Limestone, Coal, Salt, General cargo
Crew mobilisation: Colombo (CMB)
Services here: Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning

Frequently asked — Puttalam Port

Does Cleanship provide hold cleaning at Puttalam Port?

Yes. We cover the full hold cleaning scope at Puttalam Port (LKPTL), North Western Province — cargo hold cleaning (shore gang), hold cleaning riding crew and rope access hold cleaning. Teams mobilise via Colombo (CMB).

Where is the work done at Puttalam — 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. Between June and September the binding constraint is working temperature inside the space rather than access to it.

Who approves hold cleaning work at Puttalam?

Sri Lanka Ports Authority issues the port-side approval at Puttalam 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 Puttalam?

Handysize bulk carriers, Barges and coastal craft — Puttalam Port is a shallow cement lagoon on the north-west coast, handling cement and clinker, limestone, coal, salt, general 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 Puttalam?

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 Puttalam?

Yes. Colombo, Trincomalee and Galle 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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