The [b]Plimsoll line[/b], also known as the [b]International Load Line[/b] or simply the [b]waterline[/b], is a marking on a ship's hull which indicates the vessel's draft at a range of allowable load limits. It is named for the Hon. Samuel Plimsoll MP (1824–1898), a British Member of Parliament and social reformer who was an early campaigner for the imposition of a legal requirement for merchant ships to be so marked.
plimsoll line