Module 17 - Marine Environment
Anti-fouling and Boat Maintenance
What you will learn
Select a compliant anti-fouling system and organise maintenance so paint, dust, washings, solvents and collected biocide residues do not enter drains or water.
Anti-fouling controls now cover more than historic TBT: current UK rules prohibit organotin compounds acting as biocides and the application or reapplication of cybutryne, while maintenance still has to capture the old coating.
The Merchant Shipping (Anti-Fouling Systems) Regulations 2024 apply to UK ships and to other ships in UK waters. Current MCA guidance lists organotin compounds acting as biocides and cybutryne as prohibited substances: organotin compounds must not be applied or reapplied, and a ship must not apply or reapply an anti-fouling system containing cybutryne. Older non-compliant systems can also create removal, barrier-coating or documentary questions that should be resolved with the yard, product record or MCA guidance rather than guessed.
For routine yacht work, use a product permitted for the boat and waters, follow its label and safety information, and keep purchase or application records. More biocide is not automatically better protection. Hull material, existing coating, intended water, launching schedule and local yard controls all affect the correct preparation and product choice.
The RYA's practical maintenance rule is Protect, Collect, Dispose. Use the yard's designated area, ground protection and extraction or wet methods specified for the job; collect scrapings, sanding dust and contaminated consumables; then use the yard or local waste route. Do not let rain, sweeping or wash-down carry residues into surface drains or the water, and do not assume a marina bin accepts hazardous paint waste.
Plan a contained hull-maintenance job
The yacht will be scraped and spot-sanded before a new anti-fouling coat is applied on the hardstanding.
1. Protect
Confirm the yard rules, isolate drains as directed and place the specified ground and personal protection before disturbing the old coating.
2. Collect
Use suitable dust or wet-control methods and keep scrapings, slurry, used abrasives and contaminated protective material contained.
3. Dispose and record
Use the yard's identified waste stream, retain product information and apply only a compatible compliant system.
Sense check: If rain or a broom could move the removed coating into a drain, soil or water, the containment plan is not complete.
Common mistake or limitation
- Remembering only TBT misses the current cybutryne control introduced into UK anti-fouling regulations in 2024.
- Using a designated work area does not remove the need to follow its capture and disposal system; residues remain pollutants after the yacht is clean.
Recap
- Current anti-fouling controls include organotin biocides and cybutryne, not TBT history alone.
- Product selection must follow current regulation, compatibility, label and yard requirements.
- Protect, Collect, Dispose turns maintenance from uncontrolled shedding into a contained waste process.
Optional quick check
Section 7 of 7
Which maintenance plan best follows current anti-fouling guidance?
Continue studying Marine Environment
This public lesson is part of Revision Module 17. Full revision access adds the guided Learn, Practise and Test flow, flashcards and revision progress.