Technical requirements for the load line and freeboard of a ship

The load line and freeboard of a ship

The current regulation on the load line and freeboard of a ship is updated so that it corresponds to the regulation in the Act on the Technical Safety and Safe Operation of Ships (1686/2009) (hereinafter ‘the Ship Safety Act’), pursuant to which a recognised classification society authorised by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency may also grant a ship a so-called full load line certificate.

In addition, workboats and traditional ships are excluded from the scope of the regulation.

Some technical clarifications are also made to the regulation, such as the clarification of the requirement for the height of the bow deck and the bulwark of ships under 24 metres in length in domestic trade, as well as clarifications of phrasing.

Keywords: ship, load line, freeboard, load line mark