Andhra Pradesh · INKAK

Tank Cleaning at Kakinada Port

Grade changes, sludge removal and shore tanks at Kakinada Port — a deep-water port and a lighterage anchorage working side by side.

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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 Kakinada Port (INKAK), Andhra Pradesh — grade changes on product and chemical tankers, sludge demucking, terminal storage tanks and offshore support vessel turnarounds. Kakinada moves edible oil parcels, which carry the strictest specifications in the trade: prior-cargo restrictions and wall-wash results set the standard, and a tank that looks clean can still fail on analysis. The offshore support fleet based here adds mud, brine and base oil tank work on an entirely different cycle.

Working conditions at Kakinada

Most of the work at this port happens at the anchorage, simply because that is where vessels spend their time. The north-east monsoon sets the outer limits of the calendar, roughly October to December, and it affects the anchorage far more than the berth. Approval runs through Kakinada Seaports and the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board 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: Deep water port berths · Anchorage port lighterage position · Outer anchorage
Vessels we see here: Handysize and Supramax bulk carriers · Product and chemical tankers · Offshore support vessels

Tank Cleaning scopes at Kakinada

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

Planning the window at Kakinada

The north-east monsoon governs the calendar at Kakinada Port, roughly October to December. 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. The waiting time here is what makes the job practical. Tanks can be worked at anchorage under a proper entry regime rather than squeezed against a berth clock, which is the difference between a specification clean and a visual one.

Teams mobilise via Rajahmundry (RJA) or Visakhapatnam (VTZ), 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 Kakinada

Edible oil parcels move through Kakinada Port, and those are the strictest specifications in the trade. Prior-cargo restrictions and wall-wash results set the standard, not the visual condition, and a tank that looks clean can still fail on analysis.

The waiting time cuts both ways. It gives room to do the work properly, but residue left standing in a warm tank sets and stratifies, so a tank opened after a long wait needs more hand work than the same tank opened on the day of discharge.

How we deliver it at Kakinada

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the prior and next grade and the window at Kakinada. 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
Kakinada Seaports and the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board approves the work alongside the local harbour master, and at a state port that conversation is quicker but less formal — it is worth having in writing. Licensed slop and sludge reception is booked and marine chemist attendance arranged where the grade change requires it. At Kakinada the disposal route is the item that most often sets the schedule, so it is fixed first.
3
Mobilisation to Kakinada
Crews, pumps, machines and chemicals mobilise via Rajahmundry (RJA) or Visakhapatnam (VTZ). Where a vessel is also calling at Visakhapatnam, 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.

Kakinada Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INKAK
Port type: State Port
State: Andhra Pradesh
Country: India
Water body: Bay of Bengal
Port authority: Kakinada Seaports and the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board
Main cargoes: Agricultural bulk and rice, Fertiliser, Edible oil, Cement, Offshore project cargo
Crew mobilisation: Rajahmundry (RJA) / Visakhapatnam (VTZ)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Kakinada Port

Does Cleanship provide tank cleaning at Kakinada Port?

Yes. We cover the full tank cleaning scope at Kakinada Port (INKAK), Andhra Pradesh — tanker tank cleaning — DPP & CPP, tank demucking, shore tank cleaning and offshore vessel tank cleaning. Teams mobilise via Rajahmundry (RJA) or Visakhapatnam (VTZ).

Where is the work done at Kakinada — alongside, at anchorage or on passage?

Most of the work at this port happens at the anchorage, simply because that is where vessels spend their time.

Who approves tank cleaning work at Kakinada?

Kakinada Seaports and the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board issues the port-side approval at Kakinada 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 Kakinada?

Handysize and Supramax bulk carriers, Product and chemical tankers, Offshore support vessels — Kakinada Port is a deep-water port and a lighterage anchorage working side by side, handling agricultural bulk and rice, fertiliser, edible oil, cement, offshore project 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 Kakinada?

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 Kakinada?

Yes. Visakhapatnam and Krishnapatnam 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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