A Plimsoll line is the line on a ship's hull that shows how deep a ship can be loaded so that it is safe from foundering in heavy seas. This line became law in England in the late 1800s through the efforts of Samuel Plimsoll. Before the line's implementation there was much loss of life at sea due to overloading of ships to eke out that last little bit of profit. When ships were old and rotten, some ship owners would overinsure the ships and overload them and send them to sea, knowing they were going to sink, just to get that last big payoff from the insurance. And there were laws that said sailors couldn't refuse to sail on these coffin ships. Some sailors would jump off the ship as it was leaving the harbor, preferring jail time to certain death. What an evil system.
The whole story is in the book, The Plimsoll Sensation by Nicolette Jones.
No comments:
Post a Comment