International Convention on Load Lines

International Convention on Load Lines

Adoption: 5 April 1966

Entry into force: 21 July 1968

 

A: Main objective of the Convention

1: limitations on the draught to which a ship may be loaded for significant contribution to her safety.

2:These limits are given in the form of freeboards, which constitute, besides external weathertight and watertight integrity.

 

B: History of LOAD LINE CONVENTION 

1:The first International Convention on Load Lines, adopted in 1930, was based on the principle of reserve buoyancy, although it was recognized then that the freeboard should also ensure adequate stability and avoid excessive stress on the ship's hull as a result of overloading.

2: In the 1966 Load Lines convention, adopted by IMO, provisions are made for determining the freeboard of ships by subdivision and damage stability calculations.

3:All assigned load lines must be marked amidships on each side of the ship, together with the deck line. 

4:Ships intended for the carriage of timber deck cargo are assigned a smaller freeboard as the deck cargo provides protection against the impact of waves.

 

C: The Convention includes three annexes.

Annex I is divided into four Chapters:

• Chapter I - General;
• Chapter II - Conditions of assignment of freeboard;
• Chapter III - Freeboards;
• Chapter IV - Special requirements for ships assigned timber freeboards.

Annex II covers Zones, areas and seasonal periods.

Annex III contains certificates, including the International Load Line Certificate.

D: Amendments to load line convention 

 1:Various amendments were adopted in 1971, 1975, 1979, and 1983 but they required positive acceptance by two-thirds of Parties and never came into force.

2: The 1988 Protocol, adopted in November 1988, entered into force on 3 February 2000. As well as harmonizing the Convention's survey and certification requirement with those contained in the SOLAS and MARPOL conventions, the  1988  Protocol revised certain regulations in the technical Annexes to the Load Lines Convention and introduced the tacit amendment procedure, so that amendments adopted will enter into force six months after the deemed date of acceptance unless they are rejected by one-third of Parties. Usually, the date from adoption to deemed acceptance is two years. ​

 

Ammendments to FAL convention

LIST OF AMENDMENT TO FAL CONVENTION ARE AS FOLLOW

1st  : The 2002 amendments (Adoption: 10 January 2002, Entry into force: 1 May 2003 ).

Amendment : Add new standards and recommended practices for dealing with 

                          stowaways.

Amendment: Dangerous Goods Manifest (FAL Form 7), which becomes the basic                      document providing public authorities with the information regarding 

                     dangerous goods on board ships.

2nd : The 2005 amendments (Adoption: 7 July 2005,Entry into force: 1 November 2006 ).

This amendments was intended to modernize the Convention in order to enhance the facilitation of international maritime traffic, following was the amendments.

- Practice for public authorities to develop the necessary procedures in order to use pre-arrival and pre-departure information to facilitate the processing of information, and thus expedite release and clearance of cargo and persons.

- Recommended Practice that all information should be submitted to a single point to avoid duplication.

- Encouragement of electronic transmission of information.

- Amendment requires public authorities to facilitate the arrival and departure of ships engaged in the rescue of persons in distress at sea in order to provide a place of safety for such persons.

3rd: The 2009 amendments (Adoption: 16 January 2009,Entry into force: 15 May 2010 ).

-This amendment introduced the text of "voyage number", and new IMO FAL Forms were approved.

-This amendment was  related to sections concerning contents and purpose of documents.

4th: The 2016 amendments (Adoption: 8 April 2016, Entry into force: 1 January 2018).

-These amendments introduce new definitions for Cargo Transport Unit (CTU), clearance, freight container, the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, master, ship agent, shipper and single window. 

-All IMO FAL forms were revised except for Ship's Stores Declaration (IMO FAL Form 3).

Single Window : Since 9 April 2019, Electronic exchange of information is mandatory with a transition period of no less than 12 months. The text now refers to the use of "Single Window" systems and has been revised in a gender neutral format.