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This Video Explains the ship load line marking on the hull of a ship known as the Plimsoll line or the Plimsoll mark, which indicates the limit until which ships can be loaded with enough cargo. Internationally, the Plimsoll line on a ship is officially referred to as the International load line. Ship load Line is a special marking positioned amidships. All vessels of 24 meters and more are required to have this Load line marking at the centre position of the length of summer load water line. The complete Load line markings consist of 3 vital parts: Deck Line – It is a horizontal line measuring 300mm by 25mm. It passes through the upper surface of the freeboard. Load Line Disc – It is the 300mm diameter and 25mm thick round shaped disc. It is intersected by a horizontal line. The upper edge of the horizontal line marks the ‘Summer salt water line’ also known as ‘Plimsol Line’. Load Lines – Load lines are horizontal lines extending forward and aft from a vertical line placed at a distance of 540mm from the centre of the disc. They measure 230mm by 23mm. The upper surfaces of the load lines indicate the maximum depths to which the ships maybe submerged in different seasons and circumstances. It was in 1930, when the first International Load Line Convention took place, after which, it was periodically amended until the latest one that happened in 2003. The fundamental purpose of a Load Line is to allot a maximum legal limit upto which a ship can be loaded by cargo. By prescribing such limits, the risk of having the vessel sailing with inadequate freeboard and buoyancy can be limited. A vessel should be having sufficient freeboard at all times, any exceptions made will result in insufficient stability and excessive stress on the ship’s hull. This is where load lines play an important role, as it makes the task of detecting whether the vessel is over-loaded and its freeboard tremendously easy and effortless.
