Western Province · LKCMB

Tank Cleaning at Colombo Port

Grade changes, sludge removal and shore tanks at Colombo Port — South Asia's largest transhipment and bunkering hub.

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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 Colombo Port (LKCMB), Western Province — grade changes on product and chemical tankers, sludge demucking, terminal storage tanks and offshore support vessel turnarounds. Bunkering drives the tank work here: fuel, slop and bunker tank cleaning on tankers and barges lying at the anchorage, rather than cargo grade changes. Licensed slop reception is arranged through the Ports Authority before the tanks are opened.

Working conditions at Colombo

Work here runs both alongside and at anchorage depending on the call, and on the passage out where neither gives enough time. The two monsoons sets the outer limits of the calendar, the south-west from May to September and the north-east from December to February, and it affects the anchorage far more than the berth. Humidity is high year-round rather than seasonal, so enclosed-space work here is planned with ventilation and rest cycles in every month, not just the summer. Approval runs through Sri Lanka Ports 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: Container terminal berths · Bunkering anchorage · General cargo quays
Vessels we see here: Main-line and feeder container ships · Bunker tankers and barges · General cargo ships · Cruise ships

Tank Cleaning scopes at Colombo

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

Planning the window at Colombo

The two monsoons governs the calendar at Colombo Port, the south-west from May to September and the north-east from December to February. For tank work it is the anchorage that suffers — where the terminal will not permit work alongside, weather that closes the anchorage closes the job. 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.

Cleanship holds an operating base at Colombo, so we can hold a team ready against a shifting ETA rather than committing travel to a date that may move.

What we typically find at Colombo

Product parcels and bunkers dominate the liquid traffic here, so most of the work is grade changes and fuel and slop tank cleaning rather than full chemical specification work.

What we find depends on whether the vessel has had time at anchorage or come straight off a berth, so the tank condition is confirmed on inspection rather than assumed from the previous cargo alone.

How we deliver it at Colombo

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the prior and next grade and the window at Colombo. 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
Sri Lanka Ports Authority runs a statutory permit process here, so the lead time is real and the application goes in early rather than on arrival. Licensed slop and sludge reception is booked and marine chemist attendance arranged where the grade change requires it. At Colombo the disposal route is the item that most often sets the schedule, so it is fixed first.
3
Mobilisation to Colombo
Cleanship holds an operating base at Colombo, so crews, pumps, machines and chemicals are on the ground rather than in transit. That is the difference between meeting a window and missing it.
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.

Colombo Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: LKCMB
Port type: Major Port
State: Western Province
Country: Sri Lanka
Water body: Indian Ocean
Port authority: Sri Lanka Ports Authority
Main cargoes: Containers and transhipment, Bunkers, General cargo, Cement and dry bulk, Tea and agricultural cargo
Crew mobilisation: Colombo (CMB)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Colombo Port

Does Cleanship provide tank cleaning at Colombo Port?

Yes. We cover the full tank cleaning scope at Colombo Port (LKCMB), Western Province — tanker tank cleaning — DPP & CPP, tank demucking, shore tank cleaning and offshore vessel tank cleaning. Cleanship holds an operating base at Colombo.

Where is the work done at Colombo — 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. Between June and September the binding constraint is working temperature inside the space rather than access to it.

Who approves tank cleaning work at Colombo?

Sri Lanka Ports Authority issues the port-side approval at Colombo 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 Colombo?

Main-line and feeder container ships, Bunker tankers and barges, General cargo ships, Cruise ships — Colombo Port is South Asia's largest transhipment and bunkering hub, handling containers and transhipment, bunkers, general cargo, cement and dry bulk, tea and agricultural cargo. What sizes a tank job is the tank count, the prior and next grade and how much sludge is carried, not the vessel's dimensions.

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

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 Colombo?

Yes. Trincomalee 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 32 ports on the coverage list for this line.

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