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.

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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 Nhava Sheva Port (INNSA), Maharashtra — grade changes on product and chemical tankers, sludge demucking, terminal storage tanks and offshore support vessel turnarounds. 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.

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. 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. 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

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.

Tanks here are usually presented with a machine wash already done and the hand work outstanding — bottom structure, suction wells, heating coils and the areas the machines cannot reach. That remainder is what a wall wash actually fails on.

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
Jawaharlal Nehru Port 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 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. 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 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 32 ports on the coverage list for this line.

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