Tanker Tank Cleaning — DPP & CPP at Cochin Port
Grade change delivered to the surveyor's standard
Get a quote
Tell us the vessel, the port and the window. Scoped reply, usually the same working day.
Cleanship Marine carries out cargo tank cleaning on dirty and clean petroleum product tankers at Cochin Port, Kerala — grade changes, wall-wash preparation and gas-freeing worked to the acceptance criteria of the next cargo, not to a generic procedure.
Cochin is Kerala's principal port and the container and cruise gateway for the south-west coast, with Cochin Shipyard and a busy offshore support base in the same body of water. That mix puts liner tonnage on a schedule and offshore vessels between charters into the same anchorage, and both are regular users of in-water cleaning and survey.
What it gets you
- Tanks presented to the standard the next charterer will actually accept
- Wall-wash failures and the resulting rejection or delay avoided
- Slop disposal documented through licensed reception, not improvised
- Entry and gas-freeing certified rather than assumed
Working conditions at Cochin
Work here runs both alongside and at anchorage depending on the call, and on the passage out where neither gives enough time. 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 Cochin 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
- Vallarpadam container terminal · Willingdon Island berths · Puthuvypeen terminals · Outer anchorage
- Vessels we see here
- Container ships · Crude and product tankers · LNG carriers · Cruise ships · Offshore support vessels
What we do at Cochin
- Cleaning plan built from the prior-cargo and next-cargo pair, with the acceptance criteria agreed in writing first
- Tank washing, steaming and chemical treatment as the grade change requires
- Gas-freeing, atmosphere testing and enclosed-space entry certification before any entry
- Hand mopping, wall wash and final presentation for surveyor inspection
- Slops and residues transferred to licensed reception at Cochin with documentation
- Tank-by-tank record and a completion report for the vessel and the charterer
Planning the window at Cochin
The south-west monsoon governs the calendar at Cochin 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. 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.
Teams mobilise via Kochi (COK), 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 Cochin
Cochin handles crude, product, LNG and edible oil through separate terminals, and each sets its own conditions for tank work alongside. Where the terminal will not permit it, the work is planned for the anchorage or the outward passage.
Gas and specialised liquid tonnage calls here, which puts the certification chain ahead of the cleaning itself: gas-freeing, marine chemist attendance and enclosed-space entry certificates are the critical path, and the physical work is the short part of the job.
Standard scope of work
Included as standard on every tanker tank cleaning attendance, wherever the vessel is. Anything outside it is quoted separately and flagged before mobilisation, never added afterwards.
- Pre-clean assessment
- Cargo history, tank coating condition, heating coil status and the next cargo specification are reviewed to fix the cleaning method and realistic acceptance criteria.
- Machine washing
- Fixed and portable tank cleaning machines run to a calculated cycle programme, using hot or cold sea water, fresh water and approved chemicals as the cargo pair requires.
- Hand hosing and manual finishing
- Bellmouths, suction wells, framing, heating coils and structural shadows are hand-hosed and manually finished — the areas machines geometrically cannot reach.
- Draining, mopping and drying
- Tanks are stripped, mopped and dried so no free water or residue remains to contaminate the next grade or skew the wall wash result.
- Gas-freeing and verification
- Ventilation to safe-for-entry or gas-free-for-hot-work condition, with continuous monitoring and independent certification arranged where required.
How we deliver it at Cochin
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the prior and next grade and the window at Cochin. 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 Cochin 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 Cochin the disposal route is the item that most often sets the schedule, so it is fixed first.
- 3
Mobilisation to Cochin
Crews, pumps, machines and chemicals mobilise via Kochi (COK). Where a vessel is also calling at Mangalore, 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 tanker 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.
Cochin Port at a glance
- UN/LOCODE
- INCOK
- Port type
- Major Port
- State
- Kerala
- Country
- India
- Water body
- Arabian Sea and the Vembanad backwaters
- Port authority
- Cochin Port Authority
- Main cargoes
- Containers, Crude, POL and LNG, Fertiliser, Edible oil, Cruise
- Crew mobilisation
- Kochi (COK)
- Services here
- Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning
Frequently asked — Tanker Tank Cleaning at Cochin
Do you provide tanker tank cleaning at Cochin Port?
Yes. Cleanship Marine works Cochin Port (INCOK) in Kerala, India, covering the Vallarpadam container terminal, Willingdon Island berths, Puthuvypeen terminals and outer anchorage. Teams mobilise via Kochi (COK) with the full spread.
Can tanker tank cleaning be done while the vessel works cargo at Cochin?
It depends on the terminal and the grade. Some berths here permit tank work alongside and some do not; we establish which before the vessel arrives and plan for the anchorage or the passage where the answer is no. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Cochin and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.
How is slop and sludge disposal handled at Cochin?
Through licensed reception, booked with Cochin Port Authority and the terminal operator before the tanks are opened. At Cochin the disposal route is usually what sets the schedule, so it is fixed first and documented tank by tank. Gas-freeing, atmosphere testing and enclosed-space entry certification are part of the same scope.
Where is the work done at Cochin — 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.
Which vessels do you carry out tanker tank cleaning on at Cochin?
Container ships, Crude and product tankers, LNG carriers, Cruise ships, Offshore support vessels — the traffic at Cochin Port runs to containers, crude, pol and lng, fertiliser, so those are the profiles we see most. The scope is sized to the vessel, not to a standard package.
How quickly can a team mobilise to Cochin?
Crews and equipment mobilise via Kochi (COK). Give us the ETA and the window and we will confirm what is achievable rather than promise a date we cannot hold. Where the vessel also calls at Mangalore or Mormugao, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.
What does tanker tank cleaning at Cochin cost?
It depends on the tank count and volume, the prior and next grade, how much sludge is in there and whether the work runs alongside, at anchorage or on passage from Cochin. We would rather scope it properly and give you a specific figure than quote a headline rate that changes once the work starts. Send the details and the window at Cochin and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.
Tanker Tank Cleaning — DPP & CPP at Cochin Port.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Cochin and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.