UWILD at Dahanu Port
Survey credit earned without leaving the water
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Tell us the vessel, the port and the window. Scoped reply, usually the same working day.
Cleanship Marine runs full UWILD programmes — Underwater Inspection In Lieu of Drydocking — at Dahanu Port, Maharashtra, from eligibility discussion through class liaison to the final report package.
UWILD lets a vessel satisfy a survey requirement that would otherwise mean a dry docking, at a fraction of the cost and with none of the off-hire. The requirements are exacting: the contractor must hold class approval, the vessel must be eligible, hull markings must let the surveyor locate features precisely, and the inspection has to be delivered live and documented. Survey work at an open anchorage lives and dies on the weather window, so class attendance is booked with a realistic standby allowance rather than a single optimistic date.
What it gets you
- Drydocking deferred and the survey credit earned in the water
- Class liaison handled end to end rather than left with the superintendent
- Eligibility confirmed before cost is committed, not discovered afterwards
- A documented inspection record that stands up to class review
Working conditions at Dahanu
Dahanu works as an open anchorage on the Palghar coast north of Mumbai, so every dive is done with the vessel at anchor and no shelter from swell. The south-west monsoon effectively closes the season between June and September. Coal dust from barge transfer settles down through the water column around the working area, so visibility drops sharply near an active discharge and the dive plan puts the team clear of the transfer side of the hull wherever the anchorage and the wind allow.
- Where we work
- Outer anchorage · Lighterage transfer position
- Vessels we see here
- Handysize and Supramax bulk carriers · Lighterage barges and tugs
What we do at Dahanu
- Eligibility review against the vessel's age, type, class notation and survey history before anything is booked
- Programme agreed with the class society and the surveyor attending at Dahanu
- Hull, rudder, propeller, stern gear, sea chests and appendages inspected to the UWILD scope
- Live video, thickness measurement and clearance readings where the programme calls for them
- Diving permission cleared with Maharashtra Maritime Board, with the vessel secured and machinery immobilised
- Complete report package submitted for the class file and the drydocking credit
Planning the window at Dahanu
The south-west monsoon governs the calendar at Dahanu 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. Work here is done with the vessel riding to her anchor, so the dive plan is built around sea state and swell rather than a berth slot, and the team stands by for a workable window rather than a scheduled one.
Work is taken at the outer anchorage and lighterage transfer position, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. 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 Dahanu
Dry bulk handling here puts cargo dust into the water around the berths and anchorage. It settles on horizontal surfaces and packs into sea chest gratings and inlet openings, so inlet and grating clearance is routinely a larger part of the job at Dahanu than owners budget for.
Vessels here sit at anchor for long periods, and a stationary hull in warm water is the ideal fouling substrate. The heaviest growth we lift at this port is almost always off a vessel that has been waiting rather than working.
Standard scope of work
Included as standard on every UWILD attendance, wherever the vessel is. Anything outside it is quoted separately and flagged before mobilisation, never added afterwards.
- Eligibility and planning
- Vessel eligibility, survey scope and the society's specific requirements are established and agreed before mobilisation.
- Hull preparation
- Reference markings and cleaning of inspection areas so structure and features can be located and viewed unambiguously.
- Systematic inspection
- Shell plating, welds, rudder, propeller, sea chests, openings, anodes and appendages inspected to the agreed programme.
- Measurement and NDT
- Clearance measurement and underwater NDT carried out where the survey scope requires it.
- Documentation
- Video, stills, measurements and findings compiled into a report package suitable for submission to the classification society.
How we deliver it at Dahanu
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Dahanu. 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
Permits and approvals
Diving permission is obtained from Maharashtra Maritime Board, along with terminal approval where the berth requires it and any environmental clearance for in-water work. This is handled by us, not left with the agent to chase.
- 3
Mobilisation to Dahanu
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Mumbai (BOM). Where a vessel is also calling at Mumbai, one mobilisation is normally sized to cover both.
- 4
Safety setup and the dive
The vessel is secured for diving — main engine, shaft and thrusters immobilised, sea suctions confirmed shut, permit agreed with the master. Teams work under surface supervision with continuous diver communications and video throughout.
- 5
Report and handover
A completion report covering UWILD is issued with before-and-after imagery, coating and anode condition and anything found that you should know about. The findings are discussed with the vessel rather than emailed and forgotten.
Dahanu Port at a glance
- UN/LOCODE
- INDHU
- Port type
- State Port
- State
- Maharashtra
- Country
- India
- Water body
- Arabian Sea
- Port authority
- Maharashtra Maritime Board
- Main cargoes
- Thermal coal, General bulk
- Crew mobilisation
- Mumbai (BOM)
- Services here
- Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning
Frequently asked — UWILD Inspection at Dahanu
Do you provide UWILD at Dahanu Port?
Yes. Cleanship Marine works Dahanu Port (INDHU) in Maharashtra, India, covering the outer anchorage and lighterage transfer position. Teams mobilise via Mumbai (BOM) with the full spread.
Can UWILD be done while the vessel works cargo at Dahanu?
Yes — it is the norm here, because the work is done at anchor rather than at a berth. Barge operations carry on around the dive, with the working side agreed with the master beforehand. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Dahanu and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.
Do you need a diving permit from Maharashtra Maritime Board?
Yes, and we obtain it. Diving permission from Maharashtra Maritime Board, terminal approval where the berth requires it, and any environmental clearance for in-water work are arranged as part of the job rather than left with the agent. The master's permit to work and the immobilisation of machinery are agreed on board before anyone enters the water.
What is underwater visibility like at Dahanu?
Visibility at Dahanu Port is generally workable outside the monsoon, though cargo dust from lighterage reduces it sharply near an active transfer, and the south-west monsoon sets the outer limits of the calendar. How the tide and sea state shape the dive plan is set out in full in the working-conditions section on this page.
Which vessels do you carry out UWILD on at Dahanu?
Handysize and Supramax bulk carriers, Lighterage barges and tugs — the traffic at Dahanu Port runs to thermal coal and general bulk, 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 Dahanu?
Divers and equipment mobilise via Mumbai (BOM). 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 Mumbai or Nhava Sheva, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.
What does UWILD at Dahanu cost?
It depends on the vessel's dimensions and wetted area, the fouling state found, the coating specification and the working window available at Dahanu. 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 Dahanu and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.
UWILD at Dahanu Port.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Dahanu and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.