Tamil Nadu · INMAA

Hull Cleaning at Chennai Port

In-water hull, propeller and survey work at Chennai Port — a sheltered artificial harbour on the Bay of Bengal.

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Tell us the vessel, the port and the window. Scoped reply, usually the same working day.

Cleanship Marine provides the full underwater scope at Chennai Port (INMAA), Tamil Nadu — hull cleaning, propeller super polishing, bow and stern thruster work, class-approved in-water survey and UWILD. Every scope is carried out with the vessel afloat and on hire, at the berth or at the anchorage.

Chennai is the largest container port on India's east coast and the automobile gateway for the southern manufacturing belt. Liner container ships and car carriers work to fixed rotations here, which makes hull cleaning and propeller polishing a scheduled item that has to fit inside an existing cargo window rather than extend it.

Working conditions at Chennai

Chennai is an artificial harbour behind long breakwaters, so work alongside is sheltered from the open Bay of Bengal and normally runs straight through cargo operations without touching the berth window. Visibility inside the basin is moderate and drops after heavy rain runs off the city. The north-east monsoon from October to December brings the swell and cyclonic weather that governs the outer anchorage, and berth pressure means dive slots at Chennai are often taken overnight.

Where we work: Bharathi Dock and Jawahar Dock berths · Ambedkar Dock · Outer anchorage
Vessels we see here: Container ships on liner rotations · Pure car and truck carriers · General cargo ships

Hull Cleaning scopes at Chennai

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

Planning the window at Chennai

The north-east monsoon governs the calendar at Chennai 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. Because the harbour is sheltered, work here normally runs alongside or at a protected anchorage and can proceed in parallel with cargo operations rather than competing with them for the berth window.

Work is taken at the Bharathi Dock and Jawahar Dock berths, Ambedkar Dock, outer anchorage, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. Teams mobilise via Chennai (MAA), 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 Chennai

Container tonnage on a fixed rotation shows the familiar pattern: light slime over most of the vertical sides, with the real accumulation in the flat bottom, the bilge keels and the niches where flow is slowest. Those are the areas that cost fuel and the ones a quick clean tends to skip.

Shelter is a mixed blessing for a hull. The same calm that makes the port easy to work in is still water, and still water grows fouling faster than an exposed berth does.

How we deliver it at Chennai

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Chennai. 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
Permits and approvals
Diving permission is obtained from Chennai Port Authority, along with terminal approval where the berth requires it and any environmental clearance for in-water work. This is handled by us, not left with the agent to chase.
3
Mobilisation to Chennai
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Chennai (MAA). Where a vessel is also calling at Ennore, one mobilisation is normally sized to cover both.
4
Safety setup and the dive
The vessel is secured for diving — main engine, shaft and thrusters immobilised, sea suctions confirmed shut, permit agreed with the master. Teams work under surface supervision with continuous diver communications and video throughout.
5
Report and handover
A completion report covering hull cleaning is issued with before-and-after imagery, coating and anode condition and anything found that you should know about. The findings are discussed with the vessel rather than emailed and forgotten.

Chennai Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INMAA
Port type: Major Port
State: Tamil Nadu
Country: India
Water body: Bay of Bengal
Port authority: Chennai Port Authority
Main cargoes: Containers, Automobiles and RoRo, General and project cargo, Granite
Crew mobilisation: Chennai (MAA)
Services here: Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning

Frequently asked — Chennai Port

Does Cleanship provide hull cleaning at Chennai Port?

Yes. We cover the full hull cleaning scope at Chennai Port (INMAA), Tamil Nadu — underwater hull cleaning, propeller polishing, thruster cleaning & polishing, in-water class survey and uwild. Teams mobilise via Chennai (MAA).

What is underwater visibility like at Chennai?

Visibility at Chennai Port is moderate, and it drops further around active bulk handling and after heavy rain, and the north-east monsoon sets the outer limits of the calendar. How the tide and sea state shape the dive plan is set out in full in the working-conditions section on this page.

Who approves hull cleaning work at Chennai?

Chennai Port Authority issues the port-side approval at Chennai Port, with terminal approval on top where the berth requires it. We arrange both, along with any environmental clearance for in-water cleaning, so it does not fall to the agent or the master.

Which vessels call at Chennai?

Container ships on liner rotations, Pure car and truck carriers, General cargo ships — Chennai Port is a sheltered artificial harbour on the Bay of Bengal, handling containers, automobiles and roro, general and project cargo, granite. 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 Chennai?

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. Divers work with the vessel afloat at the berth or the anchorage, so there is no dry dock, no diversion and no off-hire.

Do you cover other ports near Chennai?

Yes. Ennore, Krishnapatnam and Tuticorin all sit within the same operating range for hull cleaning, and a single mobilisation is often sized to cover more than one vessel on the same trip. We work 46 ports on the coverage list for this line.

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