UWILD at Galle 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 Galle Port, Southern Province, 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. This is one of the better ports on the coverage list for in-water survey work: clarity supports the wide shots and the close detail a surveyor needs, and the record that comes out of it stands up in the class file.
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 Galle
Galle is a natural harbour on the south coast with markedly clearer water than Colombo, which makes it one of the better ports in the region for documented in-water inspection. The south-west monsoon from May to September hits this coast directly and closes most of the season; the north-east monsoon leaves it workable. Traffic is small tonnage, so jobs here are short but frequent.
- Where we work
- Inner harbour berths · Anchorage
- Vessels we see here
- Coasters and small general cargo ships · Fishing fleet and support craft · Yachts and leisure vessels
What we do at Galle
- 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 Galle
- 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 Sri Lanka Ports Authority, with the vessel secured and machinery immobilised
- Complete report package submitted for the class file and the drydocking credit
Planning the window at Galle
The two monsoons governs the calendar at Galle Port, the south-west from May to September and the north-east from December to February. Which one matters depends on which coast the port is on — the south-west monsoon closes the western and southern anchorages while the east coast stays workable, and the north-east monsoon reverses it. Sri Lanka is the one market on the coverage list where there is almost always a workable coast. Water clarity here is good by regional standards, so the operation can be properly documented on video as it happens — an advantage that turns a cleaning job into usable condition evidence at no extra mobilisation cost.
Work is taken at the inner harbour berths and anchorage, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. Teams mobilise via Colombo (CMB), 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 Galle
The working fleet here spends most of its life at low speed in warm water, so growth is heavy, mixed and reaches the hard calcareous stage sooner than on deep-sea tonnage. Left too long it starts damaging the coating rather than just slowing the vessel.
Clearer water means the fouling state can be assessed properly before any tooling is selected, and the assessment can be shown to you rather than described.
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 Galle
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Galle. 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
Sri Lanka Ports Authority approves the work alongside the local harbour master, and at a state port that conversation is quicker but less formal — it is worth having in writing. Diving permission, terminal approval and any environmental clearance for in-water work are handled by us, not left with the agent to chase.
- 3
Mobilisation to Galle
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Colombo (CMB). Where a vessel is also calling at Colombo, 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.
Galle Port at a glance
- UN/LOCODE
- LKGAL
- Port type
- State Port
- State
- Southern Province
- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Water body
- Indian Ocean
- Port authority
- Sri Lanka Ports Authority
- Main cargoes
- General cargo, Fishing catch, Cement and dry bulk, Yachts and leisure craft
- Crew mobilisation
- Colombo (CMB)
- Services here
- Hull Cleaning and Hold Cleaning
Frequently asked — UWILD Inspection at Galle
Do you provide UWILD at Galle Port?
Yes. Cleanship Marine works Galle Port (LKGAL) in Southern Province, Sri Lanka, covering the inner harbour berths and anchorage. Teams mobilise via Colombo (CMB) with the full spread.
Can UWILD be done while the vessel works cargo at Galle?
Yes. Conditions here are good enough that the dive runs alongside cargo operations without either holding the other up, and the work is documented on video as it goes. The vessel stays on hire throughout, and there is no diversion and no dry dock. We scope against the conditions at Galle and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.
Do you need a diving permit from Sri Lanka Ports Authority?
Yes, and we obtain it. Diving permission from Sri Lanka Ports Authority, 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 Galle?
Visibility at Galle Port is good by regional standards and usually adequate for video work, and the two monsoons 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 Galle?
Coasters and small general cargo ships, Fishing fleet and support craft, Yachts and leisure vessels — the traffic at Galle Port runs to general cargo, fishing catch, cement and dry 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 Galle?
Divers and equipment mobilise via Colombo (CMB). 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 Colombo or Trincomalee, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.
What does UWILD at Galle cost?
It depends on the vessel's dimensions and wetted area, the fouling state found, the coating specification and the working window available at Galle. 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 Galle and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.
UWILD at Galle Port.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Galle and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.