Makkah Province · SAJED

Hull Cleaning at Jeddah Port

In-water hull, propeller and survey work at Jeddah Port — the largest port on the Red Sea, on the Suez–Asia route.

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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 Jeddah Port (SAJED), Makkah Province — 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.

Jeddah Islamic Port is Saudi Arabia's largest port and a major Red Sea transhipment hub sitting directly on the Suez–Asia route, working containers, grain, vehicles and pilgrim traffic. Main-line tonnage calls here that would not otherwise stop in the region.

Working conditions at Jeddah

Jeddah is the largest port on the Red Sea and it works to genuine liner productivity targets, so the berth will not be held open for anything and in-water work is either sequenced around cargo operations or taken at the anchorage. The Red Sea is warmer and more saline than the Gulf, which makes it one of the most aggressive fouling environments the fleet encounters — intervals that hold elsewhere are too long here. Visibility in the basin is moderate.

Where we work: Container terminal berths · General cargo and grain berths · Outer anchorage
Vessels we see here: Main-line and feeder container ships · Pure car and truck carriers · Bulk carriers · Passenger and RoPax vessels

Hull Cleaning scopes at Jeddah

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

Planning the window at Jeddah

The northerly Red Sea wind governs the calendar at Jeddah Port, strongest through the winter and spring. The Red Sea runs a persistent along-axis wind that builds a short chop at the anchorages while the berths stay workable, so the constraint here is almost always the anchorage rather than the season. 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 container terminal berths, general cargo and grain berths, outer anchorage, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. Teams mobilise via Jeddah (JED), 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 Jeddah

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 Jeddah

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Jeddah. 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
Mawani, the Saudi Ports Authority runs a statutory permit process here, so the lead time is real and the application goes in early rather than on arrival. Diving permission, terminal approval and any environmental clearance for in-water work are handled by us, not left with the agent to chase.
3
Mobilisation to Jeddah
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Jeddah (JED). Where a vessel is also calling at King Abdullah Port, 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.

Jeddah Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: SAJED
Port type: Major Port
State: Makkah Province
Country: Saudi Arabia
Water body: Red Sea
Port authority: Mawani, the Saudi Ports Authority
Main cargoes: Containers and transhipment, General cargo, Grain and agricultural bulk, RoRo and vehicles, Passenger and pilgrim traffic
Crew mobilisation: Jeddah (JED)
Services here: Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning

Frequently asked — Jeddah Port

Does Cleanship provide hull cleaning at Jeddah Port?

Yes. We cover the full hull cleaning scope at Jeddah Port (SAJED), Makkah Province — underwater hull cleaning, propeller polishing, thruster cleaning & polishing, in-water class survey and UWILD. Teams mobilise via Jeddah (JED).

What is underwater visibility like at Jeddah?

Visibility at Jeddah Port is moderate, and it drops further around active bulk handling and after heavy rain, and the northerly Red Sea wind 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 Jeddah?

Mawani, the Saudi Ports Authority issues the port-side approval at Jeddah 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 Jeddah?

Main-line and feeder container ships, Pure car and truck carriers, Bulk carriers, Passenger and RoPax vessels — Jeddah Port is the largest port on the Red Sea, on the Suez–Asia route, handling containers and transhipment, general cargo, grain and agricultural bulk, RoRo and vehicles, passenger and pilgrim traffic. Wetted area, coating specification and how long the vessel has been sitting are what size a hull job, so the same berth can produce very different attendances.

Can this be done without taking the vessel off hire at Jeddah?

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 Jeddah?

Yes. King Abdullah Port, Yanbu and Dammam 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 65 ports on the coverage list for this line.

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