Load-Line

Load-Line

Summary of Load-Line

A marking painted on the bow of merchant vessels, denoting how much cargo may be loaded aboard, as determined by how low in the water the ship may ride. The object of the mark is to prevent the overloading of a ship, with attendant risk to its safety. The load-line marks are sometimes known as the Plimsoll line, in deference to Samuel Plimsoll, M.P., who was instrumental in passage of the first load-line statute, in Great Britain. The current international load-line standard is the International Convention on Load lines (1966), 18 U.S.T. 1857, enforced by the Coast Guard in the United States.

(Main Author: William J. Miller)


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