SAFETY AT SEA

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 141, 16 June 1932, Page 11

SAFETY AT SEA

VALUE OF LOAD LINES

EARLY DEVELOPMENTS

THE "PLIMSOLL MARK"

(By "Bosun.")

The raising of the Plimsoll lino on the tanker Otokia by. 14 inches, as allowed by the Load Lino Eules, 1932, ■which embody the recommendations of the International l«>ad Line Conference, held in London in 1930, in addition to increasing tho_ ship's carrying capacity, draws attention to an interesting aspect of ship construction and the safeguards provided for tho benefit of Bcamen. Tho Plimsoll mark—a ■white lino drawn through the middle of a circle on tho ship's side—is a familiar marking on'ships of the Mercantino Marine, and is tho standard indication of how deeply a ship can be - loaded with, safety, but although it dates back to a Bill introduced into the British Parliament by Mr. Samuel Plimsoll in 1871, it is of .comparatively recent origin compared with some of the stops which have been taken; to prevent ships being loaded too deeply. The earliest precautions taken in this direction were in tho eleventh and twelfth" centuries. One of. the first lessons man learnt when he commenced. to transport himself or his goods' on water was that there was, a limit to which his craft could be laden with. safety. Experience also taught him many other things, euch as. how to distribute the load so as to preserve the craft's stability, but the main thing ho loarnt was tho danger of carrying too mucL., particularly ,when his voyage took him into the open sea. LEARNING BY EXPERIENCE. As civilisation spread and maritime trade developed, there were plenty of sailors who knew from experience what their sailing vessels were capable of carrying, |>nt the demand for ship space was such that there was a constant temptation to add too many last straws, with the result that marine .casualties were heavy, and eventually organised communities were made to realise that some system of control was necessary. In the eleventh and twelfth centimes the Venetians instituted -a mark in the form of a cross, the Genoese a triple mark of three plates, and The Sardinians the centre of a ring. These, markings were placed on the sides of ships to indicate the maximum depth, to which they could bo safely loaded. In the thirteenth century the Baltic traders followed tho cxamplo set in the Mediterranean, .and the Haneeatic Leagne laid down rules to prevent : overloading. Britain has long been recognised as the'authority on- provisions for the safety of- life at sea, and the history of British regulations controlling the loading of ships dates from 1422, when keels and boats engaged in the Newcastle coal;trade were required to be "measured and marked," presumably to regulate the weight of coal carried. This led later to all coal carrying ships being marked for ,the same purpose, but it was not until 1774 that a-de-finite record of the load draught of water of- ships was made. SOMETHING DEFINITE. Tho record of ships kept at Lloyd'b Coffee House was of great assistance to insurers, and led. to the establishment of Lloyd's Eegister Book, in which the Tecord. appeared. It is not known for certain how the load draught was calculated, but it was probably based'upon the experience of sailors,, and the record was continued until 1834, . when Lloyd's Eegister was reorganised and • the1 modern Lloyd's Register of. Shipping .began its world-wide work. At that time definito' ideas were formed as .to the; practical limits of safe loading. A freeboard of 2into 3in per foot of depth of hold was generally accepted as a guide, and, about 1835, London underwriters, represented by the committee of Lloyd's, made a fixed rule that a freeboard of 3in per foot of hold.should regulate loading. Liverpool underwriters took a similar view, but varied the freeboard according to the size- of the ship. Tho freeboard allowed undef their regulations varied from 2Jm per foot of depth of hold for ships .of from 10ft to 12ft in depth, up to 3Jin to 4in for ships of from 24ft to ?,6ft,,in depth. The Liverpool rule also took into ' consideration' the age, class, -general dimension's, superstructures, and sheer of the ship, and varied the allowances according to the seasons of the year. , These rules proved satisfactory for sailing ships with their more or less uniform proportions, but when steam power was introduced, different types of ships were built with varying proportions. ' These steamers • presented serious difficulties in the application of such general rules, and there was considerable difference of opinion as to the depth to which they could bo loaded with safety. Ship! chartered by the Government were required to load to 3in of freeboard per foot of depth of hold, and those carrying troops to load to, 3Jin to 4in per foot. Emigrant ships were required to have a freeboard equal to only one-third of their draught of water. PEOVISIONS FOR STEAMERS. The first definite proposal for dealing with- the question of assigning freeboard came from tho Institution of Naval Architects which, in a report sent to" the Board of trade in 1867,-re-commended that the proportion of freeboard should-increase with the length. One-eighth of the beam was considered the minimum freeboard for ocean-going ships of not more than, five breadths to the length, and one thirty-second of the beam was suggested to be added to the freeboard for each additional breadth in the length of the ship. Subsequently Lloyd's Register took steps to deal with new types of steamers, such as the spar-deck steamer, With light.scantlings,in the upper, or spar-deck portion, and the awning-deck steamer, having a continuous' Seek constructed above the main deck of much lighter scantlings than the main portion of the hull. !In the latter ease the society noj; only insisted on a minimum freeboard, but made it compulsory that the freeboard should be indicated by a maximum load line marked on the sides of steamers. The mark was dia-mond-shaped, with a bar at each end and with the letters "L" and "E" above the bars..".:.. ■-..-V ■_..;.- This was the first instance in Britain of the compulsory marking (of; a load line assigned by a responsible authority qualified.to judge the, strength of the structure and of other factors involved , in determining-the position of the'load line. ■ : * ', \ ■'!'".

In the meantime, however, both the Board of Trade ana public opinion Tiad directed attention to the'aubjeet of unseaworthy ships, and in moving in the House of Commons on 28th July, 1870' a resolution calling for legislation to' diminish the losses of-ships, Mr. Samuel Plimsoll demanded .the compulsory marking of a load line and the compulsory . survey of all ships. The resolution was withdrawn, but in 1871 he introduced & Bill providing for these measures to be made law. The Bill was also withdrawn, after discussion, . but later in the year the Merchant Shipping Act of 1871 was passed, securing the effect he was aiming at. KUMSOLL LINE INSTITUTED. In 1873 a Boyal Commission on TJnseaworthy. Ships was appointed, and as tho result of its recommendations the