The Load Line Rules, 1935

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 14/1935
• Year: 1935

STATUTORY RULES AND ORDERS. 1935. No. 14.
THE LOAD LINE RULES, 1935
MERCHANT SHIPPING.
THE LOAD LINE RULES, 1935, DATED THE 4TH JANUARY, 1935, MADE BY THE MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE UNDER THE MERCHANT SHIPPING SAFETY AND LOAD LINE CONVENTIONS) ACT, 1933 .
CONTENTS.
Rules. Page. Part I. Interpretation ... ... ... ... 1—2 2—3 " II. Surveys ... ... ... ... ... 3—5 3—5 " III. Load Line Marks ... ... ... ... 6—12 5—8 " IV. Certificates ... ... ... ... ... 13—14 8 " V. Conditions of Assignment ... ... ... 15—37 9—17 " VI. Computation of Freeboards for Steamers ... 38—75 18—31 " VII. Computation of Freeboards for Sailing Ships 76—83 31—33 " VIII. Freeboards for Steamers carrying Timber Deck Cargoes ... ... ... ... 84—93 33—34 " IX. Freeboards for Tankers ... ... ... 94—108 35—37 " X. Freeboards for Ships of Special Type 109 37 " XI. Load Lines ... ... ... ... ... 110—113 38—39 First Schedule. Fees ... ... ... ... ... ... — 40 Second Schedule. Forms of Load Line Certificate ... ... — 41—51 Third Schedule. Zones and Seasonal Areas ... ... ... — 52—58
In pursuance of the powers conferred upon him by Sections 39 , 44 , 45 and 62 of the Merchant Shipping (Safety and Load Line Conventions) Act, 1933 , and of all other powers in this behalf him enabling, the Minister for Industry and Commerce hereby makes the following rules:—
PART I INTERPRETATION
	1.— (1) These Rules may be cited as the Load Line Rules, 1935.
(2) In these Rules unless the context otherwise requires the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them:—
"The Act" means the Merchant Shipping (Safety and Load Line Conventions) Act, 1933 .
"The Minister" means the Minister for Industry and Commerce.
"Assigning Authority" means the Minister, or other person authorised by the Minister to issue a load line certificate.
"Conditions of Assignment" means the conditions of assignment set out in Part V of these Rules.
"Steamer" includes all ships having sufficient means for mechanical propulsion, except where provided with sufficient sail area for navigation under sails alone, and for the purposes of these Rules a lighter, barge or other ship without independent means of propulsion, when towed, is deemed to be a steamer.
"Sailing Ship" includes all ships provided with sufficient sail area for navigation under sails alone, whether or not fitted with mechanical means of propulsion.
"Flush Deck Ship" means a ship which has no superstructure on the freeboard deck.
"Superstructure" means a decked structure on the freeboard deck extending from side to side of the ship, and includes a "raised quarter deck" and "superstructure deck" means the deck forming the top of a superstructure.
"Freeboard Deck" means the uppermost complete deck having permanent means of closing all openings in weather portions of the deck in accordance with Rules 15 to 22, and in flush deck ships and ships with detached superstructures means the upper deck. In ships having discontinuous freeboard decks within superstructures which are not intact, or which are not fitted with Class 1 closing appliances as defined in Rule 50, the lowest line of the deck below the superstructure deck shall be deemed to be the freeboard deck.
"Amidships" means the middle of the length of the summer load water-line as defined in Rule 39.
"Timber Deck Cargo" means a cargo of timber carried on an uncovered part of a freeboard or superstructure deck, but does not include a cargo of wood pulp or similar substance.
"Timber Freeboard" means a freeboard assigned under Part VIII of these Rules.
"Tanker Freeboard" means a freeboard assigned under Part IX of these Rules.
"Special Steamer Freeboard" means a freeboard assigned under Part X of these Rules.
"Timber Cargo Regulations" means the Regulations, for the time being in force, made by the Minister under Section 57 of the Act.
"Tanker" includes all steamers specially constructed for the carriage of liquid cargoes in bulk.
"Surveyor" means a Surveyor appointed by the Assigning Authority.
	2. The Interpretation Act, 1923 , applies to the interpretation of these Rules in like manner as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of the Oireachtas and words and expressions defined or established in the Act shall have the same meaning in these Rules as they have in the Act.
PART II SURVEYS
	3. Application for load line certificate.—(1) Every application for the issue or renewal of a load line certificate shall be made by or on behalf of the owner of the ship to an Assigning Authority.
(2) Every application for the issue or renewal of a load line certificate in respect of timber freeboards shall be accompanied by such plans as the Assigning Authority may require, showing the fittings and arrangements for stowing and securing timber deck cargoes in accordance with Part VIII of these Rules and the Timber Cargo Regulations.
(3) Every application for the issue or renewal of a load line certificate in respect of tanker freeboards, shall be accompanied by such plans as the Assigning Authority may require, showing the fittings and arrangements provided or to be provided for the purpose of complying with Part IX of these Rules.
(4) On every such application, there shall be paid by the owner the fee prescribed in the First Schedule to these Rules.
	4. Load line Survey.—(1) The Assigning Authority shall upon receipt of the application and of the prescribed fee cause the ship be surveyed by a qualified Surveyor as hereinafter provided.
(2) The surveyor shall survey the ship with a view to satisfying himself,
(a) that the material and workmanship of all parts of the hull of the ship are in all respects satisfactory and efficient and that the hull is in good condition internally and externally ;
(b) that the ship (i) if the keel was laid on or after the 1st July, 1932, complies with the Conditions of Assignment to the extent thereby required in her case; (ii) if the keel was laid before the 1st July, 1932, complies with the Conditions of Assignment in principle and also in detail so far as is reasonable and practicable having regard to the efficiency of the protection of openings, the guard-rails, the freeing ports and the means of access to the crew's quarters provided by the arrangements, fittings and appliances existing on the ship at the time of survey; and
(c) in the case of an application for the issue or renewal of a certificate in respect of timber freeboards, that the ship also complies with the provisions of Part VIII of these Rules to the extent thereby required in her case;
(d) in the case of an application for the issue or renewal of a certificate in respect of tanker freeboards, that the ship also complies with the provisions of Part IX of these Rules to the extent thereby required in her case;
(e) in the case of an application for the issue or renewal of a certificate in respect of special steamer freeboards, that the ship also complies with the provisions of Part X of these Rules to the extent thereby required in her case.
(3) On the completion of the survey the Surveyor shall forward to the Assigning Authority a report stating the result of the survey and containing such particulars of the ship as are required by the Assigning Authority to enable them to assign the appropriate freeboards to the ship.
(4) On receipt of the Surveyor's report the Assigning Authority, if satisfied that the ship complies with the appropriate provisions of these Rules to the extent thereby required in her case, shall assign freeboards to the ship in the case of a ship the keel of which was laid after 30th June, 1932, in accordance with such of these Rules as are applicable to the ship or, in the case of a ship the keel of which was laid before 1st July 1932, in accordance with paragraph (c) of sub-section (2) of Section 40 of the Act, and shall furnish the owner with particulars as to the nature of the load lines and of the position in which the deck line and the load lines are to be marked on the ship.
(5) The position of each load line shall be such that the distance measured vertically from the upper edge of the deck line to the upper edge of the load line is equal to the freeboard assigned to the ship which is appropriate to that load line.
	5. Annual Survey.—(1) Every application for the survey of a ship under sub-section (4) of Section 45 of the Act for the purpose of seeing whether her load line certificate should remain in force, shall be made by or on behalf of the owner to the Assigning Authority by whom the certificate was issued.
(2) There shall be paid in respect of such survey the fee prescribed in the First Schedule hereto.
(3) The Assigning Authority shall, upon receipt of the application and of the prescribed fee, cause the ship to be surveyed by a qualified Surveyor. The Surveyor shall survey the ship with a view to satisfying himself,
(i) that the fittings and appliances for the protection of openings, the guard-rails, the freeing ports and the means of access to the crew's quarters have been maintained on the ship in as effective a condition as they were in when the certificate was issued; and
(ii) that no material alterations have taken place in the hull or superstructures of the ship which affect the positions of the load lines.
(4) Upon the completion of the survey to the satisfaction of the Surveyor, he shall forward a report thereon to the Assigning Authority and endorse on the certificate a statement that the survey of the ship has been so completed.
PART III LOAD LINE MARKS
	6. Marking.—On receiving from the Assigning Authority the particulars as to the deck line and load lines as provided in Rule 4 (4), the owner shall cause to be...