load line

Maritime law. 1. The depth to which a safely loaded ship will sink in salt water. 2. One of a set of graduated marks on the side of a ship, indicating the depth to which the ship can be loaded in varying waters (such as salt water or freshwater) and weather conditions.

• Load lines must, by law in most maritime countries, be cut and painted amidships.

— Also termed (in sense 2) load-line marks; Plimsoll marks.

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