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Abstract Chemical cleaning in offshore environments is essential for maintaining the efficiency and safety of production facilities. It is primarily undertaken to prepare equipment for internal visual inspections (IVI) and to remove deposits such as hydrocarbons, scale, and pyrophoric materials that could impede system performance. Cleaning agents used in these operations must either be environmentally benign or fully contained to prevent marine contamination, given the sensitivity of offshore ecosystems. In many offshore applications, steam is injected into vessels and piping along with surfactants or solvents to mobilise hydrocarbons, wax, and other residues. This often involves vapor-phase cleaning, where heated chemicals are vaporised and circulated through the equipment. During one such operation, the use of an amine-oxide surfactant (Lauramine oxide) led to unexpected thermal oxidation above 80°C, producing Lauryldimethylamine, a substance classified by the US EPA as a marine pollutant. This degradation product entered the facility's drainage system and was subsequently identified through routine gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis of drains water. Although Lauramine oxide was listed as non-hazardous on its safety data sheet, its degradation product, Lauryldimethylamine, is highly toxic to aquatic life and required immediate mitigation to prevent significant marine pollution. Response actions included halting all drainage discharges, recovering contaminated liquids into Isotainers for onshore disposal, and installing granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration units. Closed-loop testing confirmed that GAC effectively removed Lauryldimethylamine, while whole-effluent toxicity testing and species sensitivity distribution analysis demonstrated that treated discharges no longer exhibited toxicity above historical baseline levels. This incident highlights the unforeseen risks associated with vapor-phase cleaning agents under thermal stress and reinforces the need for more rigorous chemical screening, improved supplier disclosure of active and degradable components, and the development of environmentally safer alternatives for offshore cleaning operations.