Are you carrying out the required tests for Legionella, Coliform, E-Coli, Campylobacter, Listeria and others?

Are you managing your water resources according to regulations and with health and the environment in mind?

Do you treat dock water when bunkering?

All too often we hear of a guest or crew member falling sick having ingested unchecked potable water which should be safe to drink and to use in food preparation which is obviously not the ideal method of quality control. Even if you avoid directly drinking tap water, illness can be transmitted through washing, brushing teeth, showering and food preparation with contaminated water. Increasing in importance on-board is recreational water such as in Jacuzzis and swimming pools.

Yachtsamples is a division of Atlante Group who offer testing and analysis of water hygiene and supply routine Marine Hygiene test kits. Peter Firth a qualified microbiologist within the group has extensive experience within this field, he was also a yacht engineer for twelve years and so not only does he understand the biology and chemistry but also the water related systems on-board and their required preventative maintenance. “We can create custom made Water Safety Plans to make your job easier and reduce your workload” explains Peter.

Environmental Awareness

As we are all trying to reduce the amount of plastic in our lives, more and more yacht crews are opting out of bottled water in favour of drinking the potable water on-board and so it´s paramount that this water is safe and monitored. Not only should you test for microbial contamination, but also for the correct concentrations of treatment chemicals.

Legionella Bacteria

Compliance

The 2014 MSN 1845(M) Maritime Labour Convention 2006 States: Provision of Food and Fresh Water, states the ship-owner and Master of a ship must ensure that food and drinking water of appropriate quality, nutritional value and quantity is provided free of charge to meet the needs of those on-board. In August 2013, the Maritime Labour Convention’s (MLC) started to enforce their regulations (MLC 2006), aimed at maintaining high-quality drinking water onboard ships, to protect crew from waterborne health risks. The World Health Organisation guidelines for drinking-water quality recommend water safety plans (WSPs) as the most effective means of consistently ensuring the safety and acceptability of a drinking-water supply.

Duty of Care

Regardless of whether the yacht is commercial or private, common sense should determine that within any comprehensive and well-run maintenance system, frequent water testing, freshwater treatment, tank cleaning and external verification should be included.

Routine Maintenance

Yachtsamples tests indicate the presence/absence and activity of any/all aerobic and facultative bacteria, fungi, mould and yeast. The test will also show the presence of Coliform, E-Coli, Campylobacter, Listeria and others, non-specifically.

For more information for bespoke Water Safety Plans and routine water maintenance kits, contact peter@atlantegroup.com For more information regarding the services of Atlante Group visit www.atlantegroup.com