Andhra Pradesh · INVTZ

Tank Cleaning at Visakhapatnam Port

Grade changes, sludge removal and shore tanks at Visakhapatnam Port — the deepest natural harbour on the east coast.

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 Visakhapatnam Port (INVTZ), Andhra Pradesh — 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.

Visakhapatnam is the principal major port on the Andhra coast, handling iron ore, coal, crude and containers, with Hindustan Shipyard and a naval dockyard in the same waters. Cleanship keeps an operating base at Visakhapatnam, so divers, compressors and cleaning gear are held locally rather than flown in against a berth window.

Working conditions at Visakhapatnam

Work here runs both alongside and at anchorage depending on the call, and on the passage out where neither gives enough 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 Visakhapatnam 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: Inner harbour berths · Outer harbour · Anchorage
Vessels we see here: Capesize and Panamax bulk carriers · Crude and product tankers · Container ships · Offshore and naval auxiliary craft

Tank Cleaning scopes at Visakhapatnam

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

Planning the window at Visakhapatnam

The north-east monsoon governs the calendar at Visakhapatnam Port, roughly October to December. The Bay of Bengal also carries cyclone risk in April to June and again from October to December, so an anchorage attendance on this coast is planned with a standby allowance rather than a single fixed date. 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 Visakhapatnam, 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 Visakhapatnam

Crude and product parcels move through Visakhapatnam alongside the dry bulk, and the operating base means tank cleaning crews, pumps and slop handling are arranged locally rather than mobilised against a berth window.

Crude parcels here mean sludge, not just residue. The volume that comes out of a crude tank is a disposal problem as much as a cleaning one, so slop reception and licensed disposal are arranged before the work starts rather than discovered after it.

How we deliver it at Visakhapatnam

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the prior and next grade and the window at Visakhapatnam. 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 Visakhapatnam 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 Visakhapatnam the disposal route is the item that most often sets the schedule, so it is fixed first.
3
Mobilisation to Visakhapatnam
Cleanship holds an operating base at Visakhapatnam, 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.

Visakhapatnam Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INVTZ
Port type: Major Port
State: Andhra Pradesh
Country: India
Water body: Bay of Bengal
Port authority: Visakhapatnam Port Authority
Main cargoes: Iron ore and pellets, Coking and thermal coal, Crude and POL, Containers, Fertiliser, Alumina
Crew mobilisation: Visakhapatnam (VTZ)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Visakhapatnam Port

Does Cleanship provide tank cleaning at Visakhapatnam Port?

Yes. We cover the full tank cleaning scope at Visakhapatnam Port (INVTZ), Andhra Pradesh — tanker tank cleaning — dpp & cpp, tank demucking, shore tank cleaning and offshore vessel tank cleaning. Cleanship holds an operating base at Visakhapatnam.

Where is the work done at Visakhapatnam — 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 Visakhapatnam?

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

Capesize and Panamax bulk carriers, Crude and product tankers, Container ships, Offshore and naval auxiliary craft — Visakhapatnam Port is the deepest natural harbour on the east coast, handling iron ore and pellets, coking and thermal coal, crude and pol, containers, fertiliser, alumina. 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 Visakhapatnam?

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 Visakhapatnam?

Yes. Kakinada and Paradip 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