International Convention on Load Lines (LL Convention) ^[*]

The Contracting Governments undertake to give effect to the provisions of the present Convention and the Annexes hereto, which shall constitute an integral part of the present Convention. Every reference to the present Convention constitutes at the same time a reference to the Annexes.

The Contracting Governments shall undertake all measures which may be necessary to give effect to the present Convention.

"Regulations" means the Regulations annexed to the present Convention.

"Administration" means the Government of the State whose flag the ship is flying.

"Approved" means approved by the Administration.

"International voyage" means a sea voyage from a country to which the present Convention applies to a port outside such country, or conversely. For this purpose, every territory for the international relations of which a Contracting Government is responsible or for which the United Nations are the administering authority is regarded as a separate country.

A "fishing vessel" is a ship used for catching fish, whales, seals, walrus or other living resources of the sea.

"New ship" means a ship the keel of which is laid, or which is at a similar stage of construction, on or after the date of coming into force of the present Convention for each Contracting Government.

"Existing ship" means a ship which is not a new ship.

"Length" means 96 per cent of the total length on a waterline at 85 per cent of the least moulded depth measured from the top of the keel, or the length from the fore side of the stem to the axis of the rudder stock on that waterline, if that be greater. In ships designed with a rake of keel the waterline on which this length is measured shall be parallel to the designed waterline.

No ship to which the present Convention applies shall proceed to sea on an international voyage after the date on which the present Convention comes into force unless it has been surveyed, marked and provided with an International Load Line Certificate (1966) or, where appropriate, an International Load Line Exemption Certificate in accordance with the provisions of the present Convention.

Nothing in this Convention shall prevent an Administration from assigning a greater freeboard than the minimum freeboard determined in accordance with Annex I.

The present Convention shall apply to:

The present Convention shall apply to ships engaged on international voyages.

The Regulations contained in Annex I are specifically applicable to the new ships.

Existing ships which do not fully comply with the requirements of the Regulations contained in Annex I or any part thereof shall meet at least such lesser related requirements as the Administration applied to ships on international voyages prior to the coming into force of the present Convention; in no case shall such ships be required to increase their freeboards. In order to take advantage of any reduction in freeboard from that previously assigned, existing ships shall comply with all the requirements of the present Convention.

The Regulations contained in Annex II are applicable to new and existing ships to which the present Convention applies.

The present Convention shall not apply to:

Nothing herein shall apply to ships solely navigating:

Ships when engaged on international voyages between the near neighbouring ports of two or more States may be exempted by the Administration from the provisions of the present Convention, so long as they shall remain engaged on such voyages, if the Governments of the States in which such ports are situated shall be satisfied that the sheltered nature or conditions of such voyages between such ports make it unreasonable or impracticable to apply the provisions of the present Convention to ships engaged on such voyages.

The Administration may exempt any ship which embodies features of a novel kind from any of the provisions of this Convention the application of which might seriously impede research into the development of such features and their incorporation in ships engaged on international voyages. Any such ship shall, however, comply with safety requirements, which, in the opinion of that Administration, are adequate for the service for which it is intended and are such as to ensure the overall safety of the ship and which are acceptable to the Governments of the States to be visited by the ship.

The Administration which allows any exemption under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article shall communicate to the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (hereinafter called the Organization) particulars of the same and reasons therefor which the Organization shall circulate to the Contracting Governments for their information.

A ship which is not normally engaged on international voyages but which, in exceptional circumstances, is required to undertake a single international voyage may be exempted by the Administration from any of the requirements of the present Convention, provided that it complies with safety requirements which, in the opinion of that Administration, are adequate for the voyage which is to be undertaken by the ship.

A ship which is not subject to the provisions of the present Convention at the time of its departure on any voyage shall not become subject to such provisions on account of any deviation from its intended voyage due to stress of weather or any other cause of force majeure.

In applying the provisions of the present Convention, the Contracting Governments shall give due consideration to any deviation or delay caused to any ship owing to stress of weather or any other cause of force majeure.

The Administration may allow any fitting, material, appliance or apparatus to be fitted, or any other provision to be made in a ship, other than that required by the present Convention, if it is satisfied by trial thereof or otherwise that such fitting, material, appliance or apparatus, or provision, is at least as effective as that required by the Convention.

The Administration which allows a fitting, material, appliance or apparatus, or provision, other than that required by the present Convention, shall communicate to the Organization for circulation to the Contracting Governments particulars thereof, together with a report on any trials made.

Nothing in the present Convention shall prevent an Administration from making specific approvals for experimental purposes in respect of a ship to which the Convention applies.

An Administration which makes any such approval shall communicate to the Organization for circulation to the Contracting Governments particulars thereof.

A ship which undergoes repairs, alterations, modifications and outfitting related thereto shall continue to comply with at least the requirements previously applicable to the ship. An existing ship in such a case shall not, as a rule, comply to a lesser extent with the requirements for a new ship than it did before.

Repairs, alterations and modifications of a major character and outfitting related thereto should meet the requirements for a new ship in so far as the Administration deems reasonable and practicable.

A ship to which the present Convention applies shall comply with the requirements applicable to that ship in the zones and areas described in Annex II.

A port standing on the boundary line between two zones or areas shall be regarded as within the zone or area from or into which the ship arrives or departs.

Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Article, the appropriate load lines on the sides of the ship corresponding to the season of the year and the zone or area in which the ship may be shall not be submerged at any time when the ship puts to sea, during the voyage or on arrival.

When a ship is in fresh water of unit density the appropriate load line may be submerged by the amount of the fresh water allowance shown on the International Load Line Certificate (1966). Where the density is other than unity, an allowance shall be made proportional to the difference between 1.025 and the actual density.

When a ship departs from a port situated on a river or inland waters, deeper loading shall be permitted corresponding to the weight of fuel and all other materials required for consumption between the point of departure and the sea.

A ship shall be subjected to the surveys and inspections specified below:

The periodical inspections referred to in paragraph (1)(c) of this Article shall be endorsed on the International Load Line Certificate (1966) or on the International Load Line Exemption Certificate issued to a ship exempted under paragraph (2) of Article 6 of the present Convention.

An International Load Line Certificate (1966) shall be issued to every ship which has been surveyed and marked in accordance with the present Convention.

An International Load Line Exemption Certificate shall be issued to any ship to which an exemption has been granted under and in accordance with paragraph (2) or (4) of Article 6.

Such certificates shall be issued by the Administration or by any person or organization duly authorized by it. In every case, the Administration assumes full responsibility for the certificate.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of the present Convention, any international load line certificate which is current when the present Convention comes into force in respect of the Government of the State whose flag the ship is flying shall remain valid for two years or until it expires, whichever is earlier. After that time an International Load Line Certificate (1966) shall be required.

A Contracting Government may, at the request of another Contracting Government, cause a ship to be surveyed and, if satisfied that the provisions of the present Convention are complied with, shall issue or authorize the issue of an International Load Line Certificate (1966) to the ship in accordance with the present Convention.

A copy of the certificate, a copy of the survey report used for computing the freeboard, and a copy of the computations shall be transmitted as early as possible to the requesting Government.

A certificate so issued must contain a statement to the effect that it has been issued at the request of the Government of the State whose flag the ship is or will be flying and it shall have the same force and receive the same recognition as a certificate issued under Article 16.

No International Load Line Certificate (1966) shall be issued to a ship which is flying the flag of a State the Government of which is not a Contracting Government.

The certificates shall be drawn up in the official language or languages of the issuing country. If the language used is neither English nor French, the text shall include a translation into one of these languages.

The form of the certificates shall be that of the models given in Annex III. The arrangement of the printed part of each model certificate shall be exactly reproduced in any certificates issued, and in any certified copies thereof.

An International Load Line Certificate (1966) shall be issued for a period specified by the Administration, which shall not exceed five years from the date of issue.

If, after the periodical survey referred to in paragraph (1)(b) of Article 14, a new certificate cannot be issued to the ship before the expiry of the certificate originally issued, the person or organization carrying out the survey may extend the validity of the original certificate for a period which shall not exceed five months. This extension shall be endorsed on the certificate, and shall be granted only where there have been no alterations in the structure, equipment, arrangements, material or scantlings which affect the ship's freeboard.

An International Load Line Certificate (1966) shall be cancelled by the Administration if any of the following circumstances exist:

A certificate issued to a ship by an Administration shall cease to be valid upon the transfer of such a ship to the flag of another State.

Ships holding a certificate issued under Article 16 or Article 17 are subject, when in the ports of other Contracting Governments, to control by officers duly authorized by such Governments. Contracting Governments shall ensure that such control is exercised as far as is reasonable and practicable with a view to verifying that there is on board a valid certificate under the present Convention. If there is a valid International Load Line Certificate (1966) on board the ship, such control shall be limited to the purpose of determining that:

If there is a valid International Load Line Exemption Certificate on board, such control shall be limited to the purpose of determining that any conditions stipulated in that certificate are complied with.

If such control is exercised under sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph (1) of this Article, it shall only be exercised in so far as may be necessary to ensure that the ship shall not sail until it can proceed to sea without danger to the passengers or the crew.

In the event of the control provided for in this Article giving rise to intervention of any kind, the officer carrying out the control shall immediately inform in writing the Consul or the diplomatic representative of the State whose flag the ship is flying of this decision and of all the circumstances in which intervention was deemed to be necessary.

Each Administration undertakes to conduct an investigation of any casualty occurring to ships for which it is responsible and which are subject to the provisions of the present Convention when it judges that such an investigation may assist in determining what changes in the Convention might be desirable.

Each Contracting Government undertakes to supply the Organization with the pertinent information concerning the findings of such investigations. No reports or recommendations of the Organization based upon such information shall disclose the identity or nationality of the ships concerned or in any manner fix or imply responsibility upon any ship or person.

All other treaties, conventions and arrangements relating to load line matters at present in force between Governments parties to the present Convention shall continue to have full and complete effect during the terms thereof as regards:

To the extent, however, that such treaties, conventions or arrangements conflict with the provisions of the present Convention, the provisions of the present Convention shall prevail.

The Contracting Governments undertake to communicate to and deposit with the Organization:

Each Contracting Government agrees to make its strength standards available to any other Contracting Government, upon request.

The present Convention shall remain open for signature for three months from 5 April 1966 and shall thereafter remain open for accession. Governments of States Members of the United Nations, or of any of the Specialized Agencies, or of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or parties to the Statute of the International Court of Justice may become parties to the Convention by:

Acceptance or accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of acceptance or accession with the Organization which shall inform all Governments that have signed the Convention or acceded to it of each new acceptance or accession and of the date of its deposit.

The present Convention shall come into force twelve months after the date on which not less than fifteen Governments of States, including seven each with not less than one million gross tons of shipping, have signed without reservation as to acceptance or deposited instruments of acceptance or accession in accordance with Article 27.[3] The Organization shall inform all Governments which have signed or acceded to the present Convention of the date on which it comes into force.

For Governments which have deposited an instrument of acceptance of or accession to the present Convention during the twelve months mentioned in paragraph (1) of this Article, the acceptance or accession shall take effect on the coming into force of the present Convention or three months after the date of deposit of the instrument of acceptance or accession, whichever is the later date.

For Governments which have deposited an instrument of acceptance of or accession to the present Convention after the date on which it comes into force, the Convention shall come into force three months after the date of the deposit of such instrument.[4]

After the date on which all the measures required to bring an amendment to the present Convention into force have been completed, or all necessary acceptances are deemed to have been given under sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2) of Article 29 in case of amendment by unanimous acceptance, any instrument of acceptance or accession deposited shall be deemed to apply to the Convention as amended.

The present Convention may be amended upon the proposal of a Contracting Government by any of the procedures specified in this Article.

Amendment by unanimous acceptance

Amendment after consideration in the Organization

Amendment by a conference

Any amendments to the present Convention made under this Article which relate to the structure of a ship shall apply only to ships the keels of which are laid, or which are at a similar stage of construction, on or after the date on which the amendment comes into force.

The Organization shall inform all Contracting Governments of any amendments which come into force under this Article, together with the date on which each such amendment will come into force.

Any acceptance or declaration under this Article shall be made by a notification in writing to the Organization which shall notify all Contracting Governments of the receipt of the acceptance or declaration.

The present Convention may be denounced by any Contracting Government at any time after the expiry of five years from the date on which the Convention comes into force for that Government.

Denunciation shall be effected by a notification in writing addressed to the Organization which shall inform all the other Contracting Governments of any such notification received and of the date of its receipt.

A denunciation shall take effect one year, or such longer period as may be specified in the notification, after its receipt by the Organization.

In case of hostilities or other extraordinary circumstances which affect the vital interests of a State the Government of which is a Contracting Government, that Government may suspend the operation of the whole or any part of the present Convention. The suspending Government shall immediately give notice of any such suspension to the Organization.

Such suspension shall not deprive other Contracting Governments of any right of control under the present Convention over the ships of the suspending Government when such ships are within their ports.

The suspending Government may at any time terminate such suspension and shall immediately give notice of such termination to the Organization.

The Organization shall notify all Contracting Governments of any suspension or termination of suspension under this Article.

The Organization shall inform all the Contracting Governments of the extension of the present Convention to any territories under paragraph (1) of this Article, and of the termination of any such extension under the provisions of paragraph (2), stating in each case the date from which the present Convention has been or will cease to be so extended.

The present Convention shall be deposited with the Organization and the Secretary-General of the Organization shall transmit certified true copies thereof to all Signatory Governments and to all Governments which accede to the present Convention.

As soon as the present Convention comes into force it shall be registered by the Organization in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.