What is a Primsoll line?

What is a Primsoll line?
During the 19th century when ships were haphazardly overloaded andultimately sunk, sacrificing both crew and cargo, guidlines had tobe mandated. In 1875 a British politician named Samuel Plimsoll hadan idea that a line be placed on the vessel in compliance with theappropriate load indicating a reference point on the hull inrelation to the draft of the ship. This gave anyone that looked animmediate assessment of the safety of the vessel in relation topayload. This "load line" is still being used on watercrafts of allsizes today. Originally called the "Plimsoll Line", today it may bereferred to as "Load Line" or "Water Line"