Load line (watercraft)

In the 1860s, after increased loss of ships due to overloading, a British MP, Samuel Plimsoll, took up the load line cause against strong opposition.In 1906, laws were passed requiring foreign ships visiting British ports to be marked with a load line.In 1966 the International Convention on Load Lines was concluded in London which re-examined and amended the 1930 rules.[9] The original "Plimsoll mark" was a circle with a horizontal line through it to show the maximum draft of a ship.Additional marks have been added over the years, allowing for different water densities and expected sea conditions.Letters may also appear to the sides of the mark indicating the classification society that has surveyed the vessel's load line.The initials used include AB for the American Bureau of Shipping, BV for Bureau Veritas, VL for DNV GL, IR for the Indian Register of Shipping, LR for Lloyd's Register, NK for Nippon Kaiji Kyokai and RI for the Registro Italiano Navale.
Load line mark and additional load lines on the hull of a ship
Load line markings on a cereal carrier, certified by Bureau Veritas .
Samuel Plimsoll
Lloyd’s Register (“LR”) load line mark and lines and timber load line mark and lines for power-driven merchant vessels
Lloyd’s Register (“LR”) load line mark and lines for commercial sailing vessels
Passenger vessel with no allowed subdivision load line
Passenger vessel with one allowed subdivision load line
Passenger vessel with two allowed subdivision load lines
Standard statebuoyancywaterlineseawaterInternational Convention on Load LinesBureau Veritasfreeboardclassification societySamuel PlimsollVenetian RepublicRepublic of GenoaHanseatic LeagueLloyd's Registerfixed by law until 1894American Bureau of ShippingDNV GLIndian Register of ShippingNippon Kaiji KyokaiRegistro Italiano NavaledisplacementAtlantic OceanforecastletimberBallast tankCoffin ship (insurance)Plimsoll shoeSailing ballastSS LondonStability conditions (watercraft)The Onedin LineInternational Maritime OrganizationWayback MachineShip measurementsLength overallLength between perpendicularsLength at the waterlineUnder keel clearanceAir draftTonnageGross tonnageCompensated gross tonnageNet tonnagePanama Canal/Universal Measurement SystemThames measurement tonnageGross register tonnageNet register tonnageDeadweight tonnageTwenty-foot equivalent unitIntermodal containersBuilder's Old MeasurementMoorsom SystemInclining testAngle of lollMetacentric height (GM)AframaxBaltimaxCapesizeChinamaxHandymax/SupramaxHandysizeMalaccamaxPanamaxPénicheSeawaymaxSuezmaxYamalmax