in 1876 by Samuel Plimsoll. History In the Middle Ages, the Venetian Republic, the Republic of Genoa and the Hanseatic League required ships to show a load line. In the case of Venice this was a cross marked on the side of the ship, and of Genoa three horizontal lines. The first 19th-century loading recommendations were introduced by Lloyd's Register in 1835, following discussions among shipowners, shippers and underwriters. Lloyd's recommended freeboards as a function of the depth of the hold (three inches per foot of depth, ). These recommendations, used extensively until 1880, became known as "Lloyd's Rule". In the 1860s, after increased loss of ships due to overloading, a British MP, Samuel Plimsoll, took up the load line cause against strong opposition. A Royal Commission on unseaworthy ships was established in 1872, and in 1876 the United Kingdom Merchant Shipping Act made the load line mark compulsory, although the positioning of the mark was not fixed by law until 1894. In 1906, laws were passed requiring foreign ships visiting British ports to be marked with a load line. It was not until 1930 (the 1930 Load Line Convention) that there was international agreement for universal application of load line regulations. In 1966 the International Convention on Load Lines was concluded in London which re-examined and amended the 1930 rules. The 1966 convention has since seen amendments in 1971, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1995 and 2003, none of which has entered into force. Standard load line marks The original "Plimsoll mark" was a circle with a horizontal line through it to show the maximum draft of a ship. Additional marks have been added over the years, allowing for different water densities and expected sea conditions. Letters may also appear to the sides of the mark indicating the classification society that has surveyed the vessel's load line. The initials used include AB for the American Bureau of Shipping, BV for , VL for DNV GL, IR for the Indian Register of Shipping, LR for Lloyd's Register, NK for and RI for the . These letters are approximately 115 millimetres in height and 75 millimetres in width (). The load line length is referred to during and following load line calculations. The letters on the load line marks have the following meanings: – tropical fresh water – fresh water – tropical seawater – summer temperate seawater – winter temperate seawater – winter