Plimsoll draws the line

This summer sees the 150th anniversary of a groundbreaking piece of maritime legislation – the Act of Parliament which introduced Britain's first compulsory load line on vessels. Trevor Boult tells the story of a hard-fought campaign for a safety measure that still saves lives at sea

In the summer of 1876, the first statutory load line appeared on the sides of mercantile vessels. This was all thanks to Samuel Plimsoll, a British Member of Parliament and tireless campaigner, driven in the noble cause of seafarer safety.

It became a campaign which stirred a nation, involving all classes, and men and women alike. Today, its legacy popularly endures in the logo of the London Underground and in the gym-shoes worn by schoolchildren.

Coffin ships and criminalised crew

In Victorian times, it was common practice for many merchants and shipowners to deliberately overload cargo vessels in order to maximise profit. Even worse were murderous insurance scams, where unseaworthy 'coffin-ships' were knowingly sent to sea with the very real prospect of foundering. Merchant seafarers lived in fear of crewing them. The Merchant Shipping Act of 1870 actually permitted imprisonment of seafarers who refused to board an unseaworthy vessel after signing on (often without having first sighted the ship) and many did go to jail.

Samuel Plimsoll exposed these practices, proposing a raft of simple safety measures which included independent inspections of ships and a load line. In order to effect these remedies, Plimsoll entered parliament as an MP. It was there, in the House of Commons, that he faced the most vehement and sustained opposition, from shipowners and other vested interests.

The public campaign

Plimsoll stirred up the sense of natural justice of the populace, harnessing the power of public opinion to put pressure on parliament to introduce his safeguards. Their collective voice almost toppled the prime minister Benjamin Disraeli.

From his opponents, Plimsoll suffered insult, defamation and libel suits, which forced him to sell his stately home to settle legal costs. His adversaries said that his proposed safety measures would ruin the British shipping industry, which would fail to keep pace with commercial competition, particularly from abroad. They also insisted that trade should not be hampered by the constraints of legislation.

Unscrupulous shipowners did not wish to see the responsibility for the care of their ships and crews taken from them. From the mid-19th century, mortality at sea was higher than in any other occupation. Rising competition within the industry resulted in the overloading and poor maintenance of ships.

Speaking up for seafarers

In Victorian London, Exeter Hall was the capital's great forum for discussion of social and political ideas. It was here, in March 1873, that the 'Great Plimsoll Meeting' was held. Plimsoll's impassioned speech to the packed hall was 'a glorious defence of the wretched, oppressed seamen of the Mercantile Marine'. Backed by other powerful and enlightened supporters, he proposed a Royal Commission and a Bill against unseaworthy ships and overloading.

In the two years following the Exeter Hall meeting, hopes were raised but then dashed. Plimsoll introduced a Bill that was narrowly rejected by parliament, a Royal Commission was set up but failed to recommend a load line, and Plimsoll reluctantly accepted the government's own Merchant Shipping Bill. In August 1875, a temporary Merchant Shipping Act was passed, which introduced Britain's first load line, to be applied from 1876.

From a compulsory to a standard load line

Plimsoll continued to promote the overlooked safety measures. A new Merchant Shipping Act, passed in August 1876, was a true milestone in safeguarding the lives and welfare of the nation's merchant mariners. A groundbreaking clause made a load line compulsory, to be marked by a circle with a diameter of 12 inches and a line through the middle: the symbol which has famously become known universally as the Plimsoll mark.

This Act was the defining achievement of Plimsoll's career. Yet a major shortcoming remained: that shipowners themselves determined the position of the load line. One defiant master located it on the funnel of his ship. It was to take Plimsoll another 14 years before ships were required to carry a standard load line, regulated by the Board of Trade.

But he was not alone during this time. The response of unions to his campaign had shown some early resistance but was largely supportive. Seafarers' unions and the Trades Union Congress eventually offered unequivocal support for Samuel Plimsoll, 'The Seaman's Friend'.

And we must not forget the important part played by female campaigners – not least Eliza Plimsoll, as the Liverpool Daily Post acknowledged. Samuel Plimsoll had been 'sustained in his task by his noble wife,' the newspaper reported. 'It is not only to Mrs Plimsoll but to the women of England they must look for thorough participation in all movements of this kind, if they desired that they be carried out with success.'