West Bengal · INCCU

Hull Cleaning at Kolkata Port

In-water hull, propeller and survey work at Kolkata Port — the most demanding underwater working environment in India.

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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 Kolkata Port (INCCU), West Bengal — 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.

Kolkata is India's oldest operating major port and the only true riverine one, serving eastern India and the landlocked neighbours through feeder and general cargo tonnage. Between the draft restriction, the current and the visibility, it is the most technically demanding underwater working environment on this coast.

Working conditions at Kolkata

Kolkata lies roughly 200 kilometres up the Hooghly, so vessels arrive draft-restricted and the tidal stream past the berths runs hard. Silt makes underwater visibility effectively zero, and every dive is planned to the slack around high water with the vessel secured and river traffic accounted for in the permit. Freshwater influence upriver also changes the fouling species compared with the coastal ports — the growth is often softer but covers more of the hull, which affects tooling selection more than owners expect.

Where we work: Kidderpore and Netaji Subhas dock berths · River moorings
Vessels we see here: Feeder container ships · General cargo ships · Coastal tonnage

Hull Cleaning scopes at Kolkata

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

Planning the window at Kolkata

The north-east monsoon governs the calendar at Kolkata 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. River current and sediment govern the method here: dives are cut to the slack either side of the tide, the team works by touch in near-zero visibility, and the vessel has to be properly secured against the stream before anyone enters the water.

Work is taken at the Kidderpore and Netaji Subhas dock berths, river moorings, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. Teams mobilise via Kolkata (CCU), 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 Kolkata

Dry bulk handling here puts cargo dust into the water around the berths and anchorage. It settles on horizontal surfaces and packs into sea chest gratings and inlet openings, so inlet and grating clearance is routinely a larger part of the job at Kolkata than owners budget for.

River water changes what we find. Freshwater influence shifts the species mix and the growth is often softer but covers more of the hull, and sediment settles over the top of it on horizontal surfaces — two different problems on the same plate.

How we deliver it at Kolkata

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Kolkata. 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 Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, 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 Kolkata
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Kolkata (CCU). Where a vessel is also calling at Haldia, 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.

Kolkata Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INCCU
Port type: Major Port
State: West Bengal
Country: India
Water body: Hooghly River
Port authority: Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata
Main cargoes: Containers, General and project cargo, Fertiliser, Food grain, Coal
Crew mobilisation: Kolkata (CCU)
Services here: Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning

Frequently asked — Kolkata Port

Does Cleanship provide hull cleaning at Kolkata Port?

Yes. We cover the full hull cleaning scope at Kolkata Port (INCCU), West Bengal — underwater hull cleaning, propeller polishing, thruster cleaning & polishing, in-water class survey and uwild. Teams mobilise via Kolkata (CCU).

What is underwater visibility like at Kolkata?

Visibility at Kolkata Port is effectively nil for most of the year, 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 Kolkata?

Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata issues the port-side approval at Kolkata 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 Kolkata?

Feeder container ships, General cargo ships and Coastal tonnage — Kolkata Port is the most demanding underwater working environment in India, handling containers, general and project cargo, fertiliser, food grain, coal. 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 Kolkata?

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 Kolkata?

Yes. Haldia, Dhamra and Paradip 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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