From the Bilge
The Plimsoll Mark
You may have observed a mark painted on a ships' side at approximately midships, near the sea level.That mark is called the Plimsoll Mark and it indicates the draught levels to which a ship may be loaded for varying conditions of season and location.The Plimsoll Mark can show up to six loading levels [tropical fresh water,fresh water,tropical sea water,summer sea water,winter sea water, and winter North Atlantic, for vessels shorter than 100metres.] This mark is accompanied by another,consisting of a circle bisected by a horizontal line with letters which indicates the registration society [i.e." LR is the code for the "Lloyds Register",whereas "RI " is the code for the "Registro Navale Italiano"]. the horizontal mark on the registration mark indicates the summer freeboard. The Plimsoll Mark originated back in the days of sailing ships where many ships were lost due to gross overloading. These disasters at sea resulted in heavy losses for Marine insurance companies, including Lloyds ,hence the development of the Plimsoll Mark to guide ships' masters and shipowners to load their ships safely
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