Technical Storekeeper

The core of the job is the spares inventory. You keep stock levels, part numbers and bin locations correct in the yacht's maintenance software, raise requisitions when items fall below minimum, chase quotes from suppliers and track orders through freight forwarders and agents. When a delivery lands on the dock you check it against the paperwork, deal with damage or shortages, and get it stowed before the engineers start asking for it. You also handle chemicals and hazardous goods, keep safety data sheets current and manage waste oil and filter disposal records.

Guest trips change the rhythm. Deliveries have to be timed around the guest programme, so you work closely with the agent and the purser to land parts at quiet hours or by tender away from the guest areas. In remote grounds such as the Maldives or French Polynesia a missing part can mean weeks of waiting, so planning ahead matters more than speed. During yard periods the volume jumps. Contractors need parts issued, returns must be logged and the store often gets emptied, cleaned and rebuilt.

Captains and chief engineers hire people who are organised to the point of obsession. Typical backgrounds are commercial shipping stores, warehouse or logistics work, the military, or a deckhand or junior engineer who showed a talent for paperwork. Mechanical knowledge helps, because you need to know what a mechanical seal or an impeller looks like and which one fits which pump. Clean handwriting is no longer the test. Fluency with spreadsheets and systems such as IDEA, TM Master, Deep Blue or Seahub is.

The role is a good door into the engine room. Many storekeepers complete their AEC and move to assistant or third engineer within two years, already knowing every system and supplier on board. Others build on the procurement side and move into purser roles or ashore as provisioning, technical or fleet support staff with a management company. Either way, two good seasons running the stores on a 100m yacht is a reference that carries weight.