About Us
Why Plimsoll?
Plimsoll stands
for Public Library
of Maritime Sources
Online. The PortCities Southampton
website aims to make important maritime information as easy to use
as a public library - available to everyone without charge. By the
end of the project in June 2004, it will offer over 8,000
images and 30,000 text pages. These will include important maritime
sources such as Lloyd`s Register of Ships for 1930-45, and the
official British formal investigations into shipping casualties
(wreck reports). These are available for you to help in your
research, to pursue an interest or just to entertain you. Plimsoll is also named after Samuel Plimsoll. He was MP for
Derby 1868-1880, and became very worried about the dangers
seafarers faced. Every year thousands of sailors lost their lives
around the British coast and in open seas. He believed the biggest
threat to their life came from two causes: overloading ships and
not keeping them in good repair. In the face of opposition from
some shipowners and government officials he tried to change the
law. He proposed a special mark on every British ship to show the
maximum amount of cargo that could be carried. This mark is called
the load line and by law it is fixed on the side of ships to this
day. It quickly became known as the 'Plimsoll line' in honour of
Samuel Plimsoll's work. He also said that every British ship should be inspected by
government officials to check it was maintained in good order. This
also became law, and today the Maritime and Coastguard Agency
employs inspectors called marine surveyors to ensure safe ships.
Some of the changes came about after Plimsoll's death in 1888, but
his tireless work to protect lives at sea led to his nickname, the
"sailor's friend". Seafarers can still face danger at sea, from accidents, weather,
machinery and even piracy. They still need a "sailor's friend".
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