Plimsoll line, waterline or load line

  • The Plimsoll Line is a load line painted on both sides of all UK commercial vessels as required by the Shipping Act of 1876.
  • It clearly indicates if the vessel is overloaded and is designed to prevent unsafe voyages.

History of the Load Line

  • 2,500 BCE:
    • The first known maritime regulations regarding loading and maintenance date back to 2,500 BCE in the Kingdom of Crete.
  • 800-46 BCE:
  • 800-1797 CE:
    • During the Middle Ages, the Venetian Republic (c.800-1797 CE), (using a cross), the Republic of Genoa (1005-1797), (using three lines) and the Hanseatic League (1356-1669) all had requirements for vessels to show a load line.
  • 1835 to 1880 CE:
    • The ‘Lloyd’s Rule’ was a requirement by Lloyd’s of London for vessels to show an amount of freeboard depending on the depth of the Hold (three inches of freeboard per foot of depth).
  • 1876 CE:
    • The 1876 United Kingdom Merchant Shipping Act required the load line to be marked on British vessels. It was known as the Plimsoll line, a marking invented by a British MP, Samuel Plimsoll.
  • 1930 CE:
    • The 1930 International load line convention, applied to all countries who signed it.
  • 1966 CE:
    • The 1966 International convention on load lines. was a revision of the 1930 convention.

Other Sea Laws

  • Code of Hammurabi (c.1750 BCE)
    • This was a set of laws dating to c.1750 BCE, which contained a section on Maritime Law.
  • Lex Rhodia (c.800-46 BCE)
    • These were a collection of Sea Laws used by the Greeks between c. 800-46 BCE.
  • Admiralty Law (c.1204 CE)
    • This is the Maritime Law of Britain introduced by Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) and is based on the Rolls of Oleron.
  • Rolls of Oleron (c. 5th-15th century CE)
    • These were the Sea Laws of North Western Medieval Europe, based on the Lex Rhodia.
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