One of the most celebrated examples of legislation to protect
the sailor resulted from the work of Samuel Plimsoll MP. This
Member of Parliament in Britain became concerned about owners
sending crews to sea in ships that were unseaworthy because they
were dangerously overloaded. If the ship sank, the owner simply
collected the insurance money, but the seafarer often lost his
life.
In 1870 Plimsoll began campaigning for all ships to have a load
line, which would indicate the depth to which they could be safely
loaded. After a hard fight, an Act of Parliament was passed in 1875
requiring every ship to have a load line. However, the ships`
owners were allowed to place the load line wherever they wished,
making the legislation worthless. It was not until the 1890s that
ships had to have their load line fixed by an independent surveyor.
The load line, sometimes called the Plimsoll line, is still visible
on ships today.
 Load line on a container ship |
Governments have increasingly recognised that they have a big
part to play in making going to sea safer. Building lighthouses and
providing other navigational aids is something that is best
organised on a national scale. Protecting the seafarer, for
instance by outlawing the overloading of ships, often needs the
force of the law to be successful. Although the sea can never be
made completely safe, many seafarers` lives have been saved through
such measures.
