LOADLINES & DRAFT MARKS

S – Summer: - It is the basic freeboard line at the same level as the Plimsol Line. Other
load lines are marked based on this summer freeboard line.
T – Tropical: - It is 1/48th of summer draft marked above the summer load line.
W – Winter: - It is 1/48th of summer draft marked below the summer load line.
WNA – Winter North Atlantic: - It is marked 50mm below the Winter load line. It
applies to voyages in North Atlantic (above 36 degrees of latitude) during winter
months.
F – Fresh Water: - It is the summer fresh water load line. The distance between S and
F is the Fresh Water Allowance (FWA).
TF – Tropical Fresh Water: - It is the fresh water load line in Tropical. It is marked
above the T at an amount equal to FWA.
ABS – American Bureau of Shipping (USA) *Largest
BV – Bureau Veritas (France)
CCS – China Classification Society (China)
DNV – Det Norske Veritas (Norway)
GL – Germanischer Lloyd (Germany)
IRS – Indian Register of Shipping (India)
KRS – Korean Register of Shipping (Korea)
LR – Lloyd’s Register of Shipping (UK) *Oldest
NK – Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (Japan)
RINA – Registro Italiano Navale (Italy)
RS – Russian Maritime Register (Russia)
CRS – Croatian Register of Shipping (Croatia)
Purpose and Necessity of Load Lines
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.
However, since the buoyancy and immersion of the vessel largely depend on the type
of water and its density, it is not practical to define a standard freeboard limit for the
ship at all times. For this reason, the load line convention has put regulations which
divides the world into different geographical zones each having different prescribed
load line.
For example, A vessel sailing in Winter on North Atlantic Ocean will have a greater
freeboard than on a voyage in Tropical Zones and Fresh waters.
There are two types of Load line markings:-
1. Standard Load Line marking – This is applicable to all types of vessels.
2. Timber Load Line Markings – This is applicable to vessels carrying timber cargo.
These marks shall be punched on the surface of the hull, making it visible even if the
ship side paint fades out. The marks shall again be painted with white or yellow colour
on a dark background / black on a light background. The complete Load line markings
consist of 3 vital parts.
1. Deck Line – It is a horizontal line measuring 300mm by 25mm. It passes through
the upper surface of the freeboard.
2. 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’.
3. 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.
Draft Marks. Draft marks are numbers placed on the bow and stern to indicate the
amount of water a vessel draws. These numbers are 6 inches high and 6 inches
apart. They are center-punched and painted as closely to the bow and stern as
possible, using white against a dark hull or black against a white or gray hull.
(1) The figure shows that the foot mark is at the bottom of the numeral. Thus, when
the waterline strikes the bottom of the numeral 3, the reading is 3 feet even; when it
strikes the center of the 3, the reading is 3 feet 3 inches (written as 3'-03"); and
when it strikes the top of the 3, the reading is 3 feet 6 inches (written as 3'-06").
(2) Draft readings must be taken immediately upon arrival in port. Personnel will
insert sailing and arrival drafts in the log. Draft readings must also be taken before
and after receiving fuel, after the loading or discharging of cargo, or after any other
great change in weight.
(3) A ship's officer must take the vessel's draft at 0700 and 1700 when the ship is
alongside the wharf. This reading indicates the effect of cargo being taken aboard
on the ship's trim and shows the amount of fuel and water consumed.
DRAFT AFT: 27’ 06” DRAFT FWD: 26’ OO”
MEAN DRAFT: 26’ 09”