UWILD at Okha 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 Okha Port, Gujarat, 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 Okha
Okha lies at the western entrance to the Gulf of Kutch, where the water is noticeably clearer than at the head of the gulf and inspection video is genuinely usable. Tidal streams through the entrance are still strong, so dives are worked to slack. Depth alongside is limited, so larger tonnage is worked at anchor off the port rather than at the jetty.
- Where we work
- Jetty berths · Anchorage off the port
- Vessels we see here
- Handysize bulk carriers · Coastal tankers · Barges and support craft
What we do at Okha
- 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 Okha
- 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 Gujarat 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 Okha
The south-west monsoon governs the calendar at Okha 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. 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 jetty berths and anchorage off the port, and which of those a vessel ends up at changes the dive plan more than the season does. Teams mobilise via Porbandar (PBD) or Jamnagar (JGA), 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 Okha
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 Okha than owners budget for.
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 Okha
- 1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the coating specification and the window at Okha. 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 Gujarat 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 Okha
Divers, compressors, brush carts and cameras mobilise via Porbandar (PBD) or Jamnagar (JGA). Where a vessel is also calling at Kandla, 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.
Okha Port at a glance
- UN/LOCODE
- INOKH
- Port type
- State Port
- State
- Gujarat
- Country
- India
- Water body
- Entrance to the Gulf of Kutch
- Port authority
- Gujarat Maritime Board
- Main cargoes
- Salt, Bauxite, Bentonite, General cargo, Coastal fuel
- Crew mobilisation
- Porbandar (PBD) / Jamnagar (JGA)
- Services here
- Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning
Frequently asked — UWILD Inspection at Okha
Do you provide UWILD at Okha Port?
Yes. Cleanship Marine works Okha Port (INOKH) in Gujarat, India, covering the jetty berths and anchorage off the port. Teams mobilise via Porbandar (PBD) or Jamnagar (JGA) with the full spread.
Can UWILD be done while the vessel works cargo at Okha?
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 Okha and tell you honestly whether the window you have is enough.
Do you need a diving permit from Gujarat Maritime Board?
Yes, and we obtain it. Diving permission from Gujarat 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 Okha?
Visibility at Okha Port is good by regional standards and usually adequate for video work, 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 Okha?
Handysize bulk carriers, Coastal tankers, Barges and support craft — the traffic at Okha Port runs to salt, bauxite and bentonite, 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 Okha?
Divers and equipment mobilise via Porbandar (PBD) or Jamnagar (JGA). 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 Kandla or Porbandar, one mobilisation is often sized to cover both.
What does UWILD at Okha cost?
It depends on the vessel's dimensions and wetted area, the fouling state found, the coating specification and the working window available at Okha. 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 Okha and you get a scoped price, usually the same working day.
UWILD at Okha Port.
Tell us the vessel, her ETA at Okha and the window. You get a scope, a crew size and an honest duration — usually the same working day.