Gujarat · INMDA

Hull Cleaning at Magdalla Port

In-water hull, propeller and survey work at Magdalla Port — short tide-bound windows on the Tapi estuary.

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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 Magdalla Port (INMDA), Gujarat — 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.

Magdalla is Surat's older river port on the Tapi, handling coal, steel and general cargo for the local industrial belt alongside the deeper terminals at Hazira. Traffic is smaller tonnage on short coastal and regional voyages rather than liner or deep-sea calls.

Working conditions at Magdalla

Magdalla lies on the Tapi estuary, so it combines a strong tidal stream with river silt and limited depth — dive windows are short, tied to the tide and worked in near-zero visibility. The depth restriction does have one upside for the diving side: the tonnage calling here is smaller, so any single hull job has a manageable wetted area. Larger vessels are worked at the outer anchorage instead of alongside.

Where we work: River jetties · Outer anchorage
Vessels we see here: Handysize bulk carriers · General cargo ships · Coastal tankers

Hull Cleaning scopes at Magdalla

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

Planning the window at Magdalla

The south-west monsoon governs the calendar at Magdalla Port, roughly June to September. Swell and reduced surface visibility close most open-water work on this coast for the duration, and the weeks either side are unreliable rather than unusable. 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 river jetties and outer anchorage, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. Teams mobilise via Surat (STV) or Vadodara (BDQ), 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 Magdalla

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 Magdalla 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 Magdalla

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Magdalla. 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 Gujarat Maritime Board, 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 Magdalla
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Surat (STV) or Vadodara (BDQ). Where a vessel is also calling at Hazira, 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.

Magdalla Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INMDA
Port type: State Port
State: Gujarat
Country: India
Water body: Tapi estuary, Gulf of Khambhat
Port authority: Gujarat Maritime Board
Main cargoes: Coal, Steel and scrap, Timber, Edible oil, General cargo
Crew mobilisation: Surat (STV) / Vadodara (BDQ)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Magdalla Port

Does Cleanship provide hull cleaning at Magdalla Port?

Yes. We cover the full hull cleaning scope at Magdalla Port (INMDA), Gujarat — underwater hull cleaning, propeller polishing, thruster cleaning & polishing, in-water class survey and uwild. Teams mobilise via Surat (STV) or Vadodara (BDQ).

What is underwater visibility like at Magdalla?

Visibility at Magdalla Port is effectively nil for most of the year, and the south-west 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 Magdalla?

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

Handysize bulk carriers, General cargo ships and Coastal tankers — Magdalla Port is short tide-bound windows on the Tapi estuary, handling coal, steel and scrap, timber, edible oil, general cargo. 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 Magdalla?

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 Magdalla?

Yes. Hazira, Dahej and Bhavnagar 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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