The interior locker has three unlabelled spray bottles, a bleach-based product decanted into a glass cleaner trigger, an aerosol stored next to a hot pipe, and nobody can find the safety data sheets. This is not a housekeeping problem. It is a safety, environmental and detention risk sitting in a cupboard on your boat.
Chemical safety and COSHH
Under a COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) regime, every hazardous chemical aboard needs an assessment and a Safety Data Sheet on file.
- Maintain a chemical inventory with a current SDS for every product. If a product arrives, its SDS arrives with it.
- Keep chemicals in original, labelled containers. Decanted, unlabelled bottles are the classic cause of injuries and ruined surfaces.
- Follow the dilution on the label. "A bit stronger for a bad mark" damages surfaces and people.
- Never mix chemicals. Bleach and acid produce chlorine gas; bleach and ammonia produce chloramine. People have died in bathrooms doing this.
- PPE: gloves, eye protection, ventilation. Know where the eyewash and first aid kit are.
- Aim for the mildest effective product. Fewer, better, safer chemicals also mean fewer chances of using the wrong one on marble or lacquer.
Storage
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dedicated, ventilated locker | Not under a guest sink, not in a cabin |
| Secured for sea | Bottles restrained; a chemical spill in a seaway is a casualty |
| Segregated | Acids away from bleach; oxidisers away from flammables |
| Away from heat | Aerosols and solvents near a hot surface are an explosion risk |
| Drip trays | For decant and storage |
Equipment too: vacuums and machines stowed secure, cables inspected, no water near electrics.
Waste and MARPOL Annex V
MARPOL Annex V governs garbage from ships. Plastics may never be discharged into the sea — anywhere. Interior generates a large share of a yacht garbage stream: packaging, bottles, cleaning containers, linen wrap, amenity waste.
- Segregate at source per the Garbage Management Plan: plastics, food waste, paper, glass, metal, hazardous.
- Log discharges and landings in the Garbage Record Book where required. Interior fills the bags; the ship carries the liability.
- Hazardous waste — chemicals, batteries, aerosols, contaminated cloths — goes ashore through the proper route, never over the side, never into general waste.
- Reduce first: refill dispensers, bulk stores, no unnecessary single-use plastic.
Water, energy and safe working
- Fresh water is made, stored and paid for. Full-load laundry, short hoses, no running taps.
- Lights, AC and equipment off in unoccupied spaces.
- Working at height: proper steps, never a chair or a table edge, three points of contact, never alone, never in a seaway.
- Wet floors get signed and dried immediately. In a seaway, one hand for the ship — including when carrying a tray.
Onboard Notes
- If you cannot identify a bottle, it does not get used. Label it or land it.
- A single plastic bag over the side is a MARPOL violation with fines and, in some jurisdictions, personal criminal liability.
- Report near misses. The trolley that nearly went down the companionway is next week injury if nobody says anything.