In the summer of 1876, the first Plimsoll line, marking the maximum depth to which vessels can be loaded with cargo, appeared on the side of ships. It is now the 150^th anniversary of this groundbreaking piece of legislation.

In Victorian times it was common practice for many ship owners to deliberately overload vessels to maximise profit. This would have affected local ships and seafarers as overloading made ships unsafe. They were often branded as coffin ships. Even worse were murderous insurance scams, where unseaworthy ships were knowingly sent to sea with every prospect of foundering. Locally, Thomas Benson was such a ship owner, although his fraud was to offload cargo at Lundy before sending ships off to be scuttled.

Samuel Plimsoll, a Member of Parliament born in Bristol in 1824 and campaigner for sailors’ safety, came up with the idea of a safe loading mark. In 1870 the law stated that a sailor could face prison if he refused to sign aboard an unsafe vessel. Mortality at sea was higher than in any other occupation.

Plimsoll stirred up a sense of natural justice amongst the populace, putting pressure on Parliament to introduce safeguards for sailors. Public opinion almost toppled the Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. Plimsoll himself suffered abuse and libel suits, which forced him to sell his stately home to settle legal costs. His adversaries accused him of ruining the British shipping industry, arguing that trade should not be hampered by legislation.

A new Merchant Shipping Act was passed in 1876 that was considered a true milestone in safeguarding life at sea. The load line was marked with a circle 12 inches diameter with a line through the middle. The line still exists as a symbol on London underground and children’s gym shoes and today is marked on all ships.

Although the Act was a major achievement, it was up to shipowners themselves to determine where the line should be. One defiant master painted it on the funnel of his ship. It took Plimsoll another 14 years before ships were required to carry a standard load line as defined by the Board of Trade.

Alongside Samuel was his wife, Eliza Plimsoll. The Liverpool Daily Post wrote, ‘Samuel Plimsoll had been sustained in his task by his noble wife. It is not only Mrs Plimsoll but the women of England they must look to for thorough participation in movements of this kind, if they desire that they be carried out with success.’