Kerala · INCOK

Tank Cleaning at Cochin Port

Grade changes, sludge removal and shore tanks at Cochin Port — warm backwater that regrows fouling faster than owners expect.

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

Cleanship Marine cleans cargo, bunker and shore tanks at Cochin Port (INCOK), Kerala — grade changes on product and chemical tankers, sludge demucking, terminal storage tanks and offshore support vessel turnarounds. Gas-freeing, enclosed-space entry certification and licensed slop disposal are part of the scope, not extras.

Cochin is Kerala's principal port and the container and cruise gateway for the south-west coast, with Cochin Shipyard and a busy offshore support base in the same body of water. That mix puts liner tonnage on a schedule and offshore vessels between charters into the same anchorage, and both are regular users of in-water cleaning and survey.

Working conditions at Cochin

Work here runs both alongside and at anchorage depending on the call, and on the passage out where neither gives enough time. The south-west monsoon sets the outer limits of the calendar, roughly June to September, and it affects the anchorage far more than the berth. Approval runs through Cochin Port Authority and the terminal operator, and licensed slop reception is booked before the tanks are opened — at most ports on this list that booking, not the cleaning, is what sets the date.

Where we work: Vallarpadam container terminal · Willingdon Island berths · Puthuvypeen terminals · Outer anchorage
Vessels we see here: Container ships · Crude and product tankers · LNG carriers · Cruise ships · Offshore support vessels

Tank Cleaning scopes at Cochin

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

Planning the window at Cochin

The south-west monsoon governs the calendar at Cochin 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. Whether the work runs alongside, at anchorage or on passage depends on the terminal and the grade, so the plan is built against the actual call. Where a terminal will not permit tank work at the berth, we say so at quoting stage rather than after mobilisation.

Teams mobilise via Kochi (COK), 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 Cochin

Cochin handles crude, product, LNG and edible oil through separate terminals, and each sets its own conditions for tank work alongside. Where the terminal will not permit it, the work is planned for the anchorage or the outward passage.

Gas and specialised liquid tonnage calls here, which puts the certification chain ahead of the cleaning itself: gas-freeing, marine chemist attendance and enclosed-space entry certificates are the critical path, and the physical work is the short part of the job.

How we deliver it at Cochin

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the prior and next grade and the window at Cochin. 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, slops and certification
Terminal and port approval for tank work is obtained from Cochin Port Authority and the terminal operator, licensed slop and sludge reception is booked, and marine chemist attendance is arranged where the grade change requires it. At Cochin the disposal route is the item that most often sets the schedule, so it is fixed first.
3
Mobilisation to Cochin
Crews, pumps, machines and chemicals mobilise via Kochi (COK). Where a vessel is also calling at Mangalore, one mobilisation is normally sized to cover both.
4
Gas-freeing, entry and cleaning
Atmosphere testing, gas-freeing and enclosed-space entry certification come before any entry, and are repeated after every break. Standby cover and atmosphere monitoring run continuously while anyone is inside, and progress is reported tank by tank.
5
Report and handover
A completion report covering tank cleaning is issued with before-and-after imagery, tank by tank and anything found that you should know about. The findings are discussed with the vessel rather than emailed and forgotten.

Cochin Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INCOK
Port type: Major Port
State: Kerala
Country: India
Water body: Arabian Sea and the Vembanad backwaters
Port authority: Cochin Port Authority
Main cargoes: Containers, Crude, POL and LNG, Fertiliser, Edible oil, Cruise
Crew mobilisation: Kochi (COK)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Cochin Port

Does Cleanship provide tank cleaning at Cochin Port?

Yes. We cover the full tank cleaning scope at Cochin Port (INCOK), Kerala — tanker tank cleaning — dpp & cpp, tank demucking, shore tank cleaning and offshore vessel tank cleaning. Teams mobilise via Kochi (COK).

Where is the work done at Cochin — 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.

Who approves tank cleaning work at Cochin?

Cochin Port Authority issues the port-side approval at Cochin 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 Cochin?

Container ships, Crude and product tankers, LNG carriers, Cruise ships, Offshore support vessels — Cochin Port is warm backwater that regrows fouling faster than owners expect, handling containers, crude, pol and lng, fertiliser, edible oil, cruise. 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 Cochin?

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. Tank work runs alongside where the terminal permits it, and otherwise at anchorage or on the passage out — none of which takes the vessel off hire.

Do you cover other ports near Cochin?

Yes. Mangalore and Mormugao all sit within the same operating range for tank cleaning, and a single mobilisation is often sized to cover more than one vessel on the same trip. We work 24 ports on the coverage list for this line.

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