Maharashtra · INNSA

Tank Cleaning at Nhava Sheva Port

Grade changes, sludge removal and shore tanks at Nhava Sheva Port — India's largest container port on a fixed liner rotation.

Get a quote

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 Nhava Sheva Port (INNSA), Maharashtra — 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.

Nhava Sheva, officially Jawaharlal Nehru Port, is India's largest container port and the main box gateway for western India. Liner container ships run fixed rotations here, which makes propeller polishing and hull cleaning a scheduled maintenance item on a known interval rather than an emergency response to a speed complaint.

Working conditions at Nhava Sheva

Work here starts alongside, and where the berth window runs out it continues on the outward passage with a riding crew — the berth will not be held open for it. 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 Jawaharlal Nehru 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: Container terminal berths · Liquid berth · Harbour anchorage
Vessels we see here: Main-line and feeder container ships · Product tankers

Tank Cleaning scopes at Nhava Sheva

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

Planning the window at Nhava Sheva

The south-west monsoon governs the calendar at Nhava Sheva 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. Terminal windows here are tight and most operators will not permit tank work alongside, so the realistic plan is the anchorage or the outward passage. That is agreed before the vessel arrives, not argued at the berth.

Teams mobilise via Mumbai (BOM), 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 Nhava Sheva

Liquid bulk is a small part of a container port, so tank work at Nhava Sheva is mostly bunker, slop and fuel tank cleaning on box ships and harbour craft rather than cargo grade changes. Container berth windows will not carry it, so it is planned for the anchorage.

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.

How we deliver it at Nhava Sheva

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the prior and next grade and the window at Nhava Sheva. 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 Jawaharlal Nehru 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 Nhava Sheva the disposal route is the item that most often sets the schedule, so it is fixed first.
3
Mobilisation to Nhava Sheva
Crews, pumps, machines and chemicals mobilise via Mumbai (BOM). Where a vessel is also calling at Mumbai, 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.

Nhava Sheva Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INNSA
Port type: Major Port
State: Maharashtra
Country: India
Water body: Arabian Sea, Mumbai harbour
Port authority: Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority
Main cargoes: Containers, Liquid bulk, Project cargo
Crew mobilisation: Mumbai (BOM)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Nhava Sheva Port

Does Cleanship provide tank cleaning at Nhava Sheva Port?

Yes. We cover the full tank cleaning scope at Nhava Sheva Port (INNSA), Maharashtra — tanker tank cleaning — dpp & cpp, tank demucking, shore tank cleaning and offshore vessel tank cleaning. Teams mobilise via Mumbai (BOM).

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

Work here starts alongside, and where the berth window runs out it continues on the outward passage with a riding crew — the berth will not be held open for it.

Who approves tank cleaning work at Nhava Sheva?

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority issues the port-side approval at Nhava Sheva 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 Nhava Sheva?

Main-line and feeder container ships, Product tankers — Nhava Sheva Port is India's largest container port on a fixed liner rotation, handling containers, liquid bulk and project 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 Nhava Sheva?

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 Nhava Sheva?

Yes. Mumbai 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.

Get in touch