Load Lines Convention 1966, 2021 Edition (KC701E)

Foreword

Introduction

The International Convention on Load Lines, 1966 (1966 LL Convention) was adopted by the International Conference on Load Lines on 5 April 1966 and entered into force on 21 July 1968. It has since been amended by means of Assembly resolutions as follows:

.1 by Assembly resolution A.231(VII), which was adopted on 12 October 1971;
.2 by Assembly resolution A.319(IX), which was adopted on 12 November 1975;
.3 by Assembly resolution A.411(XI), which was adopted on 15 November 1979;
.4 by Assembly resolution A.513(13), which was adopted on 17 November 1983;
.5 by Assembly resolution A.784(19), which was adopted on 23 November 1995;
.6 by Assembly resolution A.961(23), which was adopted on 8 March 2004;
.7 by Assembly resolution A.972(24), which was adopted on 23 January 2006;
.8 by Assembly resolution A.1082(28), which was adopted on 6 December 2013; and
.9 by Assembly resolution A.1083(28), which was adopted on 10 December 2013.

2 The 1966 LL Convention was modified by the 1988 Protocol relating thereto, which was adopted on 11 November 1988 by the International Conference on the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification and entered into force on 3 February 2000. The 1988 Protocol’s provisions harmonize the Convention’s survey and certification requirements with those contained in SOLAS and MARPOL.

3 The 1988 LL Protocol itself has been modified by the 2003 Amendments, which were adopted by resolution MSC.143(77) on 5 June 2003 and entered into force on 1 January 2005. The following amendments were adopted thereafter:

.1 by resolution MSC.172(79), adopted on 9 December 2004;
.2 by resolution MSC.223(82), adopted on 8 December 2006;
.3 by resolution MSC.270(85), adopted on 4 December 2008;
.4 by resolution MSC.329(90), adopted on 24 May 2012;
.5 by resolution MSC.345(91), adopted on 30 November 2012;
.6 by resolution MSC.356(92), adopted on 21 June 2013; and
.7 by resolution MSC.375(93), adopted on 22 May 2014.

Content of the consolidated text
4 The publication has been arranged in five parts:

.1 part 1, which contains a reproduction of the original text of the 1966 LL Convention;
.2 part 2, which contains the Articles of the 1988 LL Protocol;
.3 part 3, containing the 1966 LL Convention as modified by the 1988 LL Protocol, as amended (as of 31 December 2021)
.4 part 4, which contains the unified interpretations of the 1966 LL Convention and the 1988
Protocol thereto (correct as of 31 December 2021); and
.5 part 5, consisting of the Form of Record of conditions of assignment of load lines.

5 In Part 3, those articles and regulations of the 1966 LL Convention which have been modified by the1988 Protocol, as amended, are indicated by the symbol . It should be noted that, from the legal point of view, the 1988 Protocol is only applicable to ships entitled to fly the flag of a State which is a Party to the Protocol.

6 In accordance with resolution A.351(IX), whereby the Assembly resolved that metric units in the “Système international d’unités” (SI System) should be introduced in the 1974 SOLAS Convention at the first opportunity and also in all future instruments to be adopted under the auspices of the Organization, the text of the 1966 LL Convention as modified by the 1988 Protocol contained in the present publication shows values and dimensions in SI units only. Thus, the values and dimensions in imperial units are omitted only for the purposes of the present publication and also for consistency with the regulations of the Convention that have
been modified by the 1988 Protocol, where all dimensions are given in SI units only.

Foreword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v

Part 1

International Convention on Load Lines, 1966. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Articles of the Convention. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Annex I: Regulations for determining load lines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Chapter I – General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Chapter II – Conditions of assignment of freeboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter III – Freeboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Chapter IV – Special requirements for ships assigned timber freeboards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Annex II: Zones, areas and seasonal periods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Annex III: Certificates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Annex IV: Verification of compliance with the provisions of this Convention. . . . . . . . . . . . .69

Part 2

Articles of the Protocol of 1988 relating to the

International Convention on Load Lines, 1966. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Part 3

Consolidated text of the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966 as modified by the Protocol of 1988 relating thereto, as amended. . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Annex A: Articles of the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966, as modified by

the Protocol of 1988 relating thereto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Annex B: Annexes to the Convention as modified by the Protocol of 1988 relating thereto. 95

Annex I: Regulations for determining load lines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 95

Chapter I – General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Chapter II – Conditions of assignment of freeboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Chapter III – Freeboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Chapter IV – Special requirements for ships assigned timber freeboards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Annex II: Zones, areas and seasonal periods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Annex III: Certificates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Annex IV: Verification of compliance with the provisions of this Convention. . . . . . . . . . 170

Part 4

Unified Interpretations of the provisions of the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966 and the 1988 Protocol relating thereto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Part 5

Form of record of conditions of assignment of load lines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Application of the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966 and the 1988 Protocol relating thereto, to high-speed craft (MSC/Circ.1028). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

IMO

As a specialized agency of the United Nations, IMO is the global standard-setting authority for the safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping. Its main role is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted and universally implemented. ?

In other words, its role is to create a level playing-field so that ship operators cannot address their financial issues by simply cutting corners and compromising on safety, security and environmental performance. This approach also encourages innovation and efficiency.

Shipping is a truly international industry, and it can only operate effectively if the regulations and standards are themselves agreed, adopted and implemented on an international basis. And IMO is the forum at which this process takes place.