Oily rag self-combusts in anchor locker

Boat owners and crew are being reminded of the dangers of leaving oily rags on board following the spontaneous combustion of rags in a yacht’s anchor locker in Jersey.

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Jersey Harbour Authority’s Safety Bulletin 01 of 2025 warns of the incident involving a pleasure yacht in St Helier. The crew had cleaned the anchor locker using oil or white-spirit cleaning products. A small quantity of used rags coated in the cleaning product was stored in a plastic airtight box on a high shelf close to the underside of the foredeck. The rags smouldered and melted the lid of the box, likely due to the exothermic evaporation of self-extinguished and was only discovered after the event. It caused smoke damage to the inside of the anchor locker, which required minor repairs.